Sexual dimorphism in the brown algae
Résumé
Sexual dimorphisms have been described in several groups of organisms, but while an important number of investigations have focused on animal and plant systems, much less is known about this phenomena in other eukaryotes. We review here the current know ledge on sexual dimorphisms in the brown algae, a group of multicellular eukaryotes that have been evolving separately from animals and plants for more than a billion years. We discuss the ecological implications of these sexual dimorphisms, describe recent studies aimed at understanding the molecular basis of sexrelated differences, and highlight the advantages of the brown algae to study the evolution of sexual dimorphism in a broad evolutionary context.