The papaya plant carries the youngest Y chromosome ever found, reports a research team. That sex chromosome is so new evolutionarily that it doesn’t have the stripped-down style of full-fledged Y chromosomes.
INVENTING SEXES. Papaya plants can be male, female, or some of both, thanks to incipient sex chromosomes that may show how sex chromosomes arise.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.