Sex, genomes and evolution

This graphic was originally published on the Sanger Institute website on 3 Aug 2023.

This infographic explores the diverse ways in which sex chromosomes and reproduction have evolved across the tree of life. It was commissioned for the launch of the Tree of Sex v2.0 project in 2023.

Infographic exploring several different ways sex chromosomes have evolved across the tree of life, including: XX/XY as in humans; deletion of the Y in males; ZW/ZZ as in birds; haploploidy where sex chromosomes are inherited from only the mother; PGE where male sex chromosomes are eliminated; hermaphroditism; monoecy in plants; and asexuality