An article published in the journal “Communications Biology” describes a research that offers new clues about the genetic origin of the two sexes. A team of researchers led by Dr. Hisayoshi Nozaki of the University of Tokyo studied the volvocine green algae, a group of algae that includes species that have been studied for years in the research on this topic. In this case the analyzes focused on species of the Yamagishiella and Eudorina genera, discovering a key gene in the differentiation between males and females.