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Grant recipient

Mikkel Heide Schierup

The Extraordinary Evolution of Human Sex Chromosomes

Mikkel Heide Schierup says: “Our sex chromosomes, the X and the Y, are mysterious. They influence male fertility and have a disproportional role in creating new species, including our own. I hypothesize that this is due to a tug-of-war between the X and Y for entering sperm cells in male meiosis. To test this, I will investigate all stages of human male meiosis using advanced cell sorting and sequencing and relate this to male fertility and the sex of children. I will include other great apes and archaic humans such as Neanderthals to understand the general evolutionary rules and the specific speciation processes as well as genetic causes for male infertility.”

Mikkel Heide Schierup
Professor, Department of Bioscience – Genetics, Ecology and Evolution and Bioinformatics Research Centre
Aarhus University