Honors College Theses
Publication Date
2024
Major
Biology (B.S.B.)
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Faculty Mentor
Scott Harrison
Abstract
Most species produce male and female offspring in an even ratio or are biased towards producing more females. Brown widows are unusual because some different familial lines consistently show a bias towards either females or males. Because the sexes of brown widows are indistinguishable in early life stages, developing a reliable method of determining the sex of individuals as early as hatching will enhance the ability to study the mechanism of the sex-ratio bias. This can be accomplished by comparing their genetics; females have two sex chromosomes while males only have one, meaning that females possess twice as much sex chromosome-related genetic material. We used the genome of a related species of widow spider to develop a method using quantitative PCR to genetically differentiate male and female brown widows before they can be visibly distinguished.
Recommended Citation
Byram, Claire F., "Using Sex Chromosomes to Differentiate Sexes of Immature Brown Widow Spiders" (2024). Honors College Theses. 977.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/honors-theses/977
