Manfred Schartl, Manfred Schartl, a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and Academia Europaea, and a professor at the University of Würzburg and Texas State University, visited the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the morning of August 25, 2026. (Credit: IHB)

Manfred Schartl, a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and Academia Europaea, and a professor at the University of Würzburg and Texas State University, visited the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the morning of August 25, 2026 and delivered a lecture titled "Diversity of Sex Determination in Fish: Everything Is Possible?"

In his presentation, Schartl systematically explained the diversity of sex determination (SD) mechanisms in fish. He noted that among vertebrates, fish show exceptionally high plasticity in sex determination, with patterns ranging from environmental sex determination to complex genetic sex determination. He discussed the diversity of fish sex determination genes, the origin and evolution of sex chromosomes, and the origin and evolution of B chromosomes from the perspectives of species evolution, ecological and environmental change, and developmental biology.

By comparing sex determination systems across different fish lineages in the tree of life, Schartl explored how sex chromosomes originate and evolve in different species. He summarized the highly diverse and dynamically evolving nature of fish sex chromosomes and further described possible pathways through which new sex determination genes and mechanisms continue to emerge, offering new perspectives for understanding the evolution of fish sex determination systems.

After the lecture, faculty and students engaged in in-depth discussion with Schartl on topics including the evolution of fish sex chromosomes, the origin and stable maintenance of B chromosomes, and future directions in sex determination research.

Manfred Schartl is an internationally renowned geneticist. He was elected to the German National Academy of Sciences in 2011 and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2021. His research focuses on fish genomics, vertebrate sex determination and sex chromosome evolution, and the regulation of fish reproductive development. He has published multiple papers as first or corresponding author in leading international journals, including four in Nature and one in Science, and is one of the most influential scholars in his field. He also serves on the editorial boards of numerous international journals and as an invited reviewer and editorial advisor, making important contributions to the development and exchange of genetics worldwide.