Sex, Genes and Chromosomes

Jennifer A. Marshall Graves is Distinguished Professor and Vice Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Jenny has spent her working life comparing weird animal genomes to discover how sex works and how it evolved. She was a pioneer of comparative genomics and of epigenetics, and was involved in discovering genes important for sex in humans as well as other mammals and reptiles. She has written hundreds of science articles and won many awards, including Australia's top science prize: the Prime Minister's Prize for Science (2017), and the L'Oreal-UNESCO International Prize for Women in Science (2006). Jenny is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and an International Member of the US National Academy of Science. She writes popular science articles for a combined readership of 6 million and recently wrote and performed in an oratorio that celebrates the beautiful science illuminating the Origins of the Universe, of Life, of Species, of Humanity.

• 1. Introduction to Vertebrate Genomes and Sex; Part I. Organization and Evolution of Sex Chromosomes: 2. Sex and Sex Chromosomes; 3. Molecular Biology of Mammalian Sex Chromosomes; 4. Evolution of Mammal Sex Chromosomes; Part II. Activity of Sex Chromosomes: 5. Discovery of X Chromosome Inactivation; 6. Molecular Biology of X Chromosome Inactivation; 7. Evolution of X Chromosome Inactivation and Dosage Compensation; Part III. Sex Determination: 8. Sex and the Single Gene; 9. Molecular Biology of Mammal Sex Determination; 10. Evolution of Vertebrate Sex Determination; 11. Sex, Genes and the Human Condition; Glossary; Nomenclature – Genes, Proteins and Diseases; Index.

'Sex, Genes and Chromosomes by Jenny Graves is the culmination of a lifelong interest and curiosity in a very special area of developmental biology, the programming of sexual fate. How do organisms become male or female—and how surprising is the diversity of mechanisms by which this decision is made and enacted in different organisms? Jenny is a pioneer in this field and a gifted communicator. She unpacks the dynamic interplay of sex chromosomes, genes, regulatory networks, epigenetic influences, and a role for environment. The book is intellectually rigorous but enlivened by a strong personal element. It spans theory, landmark discoveries, and the passage to the modern genomic era. A must-have for readers interested in sex determination and its environmental reprogramming—and an outstanding resource for anyone with an interest in developmental biology more generally.' Arthur Georges, University of Canberra