Escaping the evolutionary trap? Sex chromosome turnover in basilisks and related lizards (Corytophanidae: Squamata)

Here, we explore the previously unknown corytophanid sex chromosomes using a combination of RADseq and RNAseq. We reveal that all examined corytophanid species have partially degenerated XX/XY sex chromosomes, syntenic with chicken chromosome 17. Transcriptomic analyses reveal that the expression of X-linked genes in the brown basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus, is not balanced between the sexes, which is rather exceptional under male heterogamety, and unlike the dosage balanced sex chromosomes in the green anole, Anolis carolinensis.