What key difference in sex determination exists between wild Danio rerio and established lab strains?

Answer

Wild D. rerio possess a WZ/ZZ major sex determinant on Chromosome 4, which has been lost in lab strains

A significant evolutionary divergence driven by laboratory domestication involves sex determination in *D. rerio*. Wild populations utilize a major sex determinant system denoted as WZ/ZZ, located on Chromosome 4, which is analogous to the system found in birds. However, this primary determinant has been lost in the common laboratory strains. The complex and often variable sex determination observed currently in lab zebrafish is thought to be the consequence of genetic drift and selection acting upon multiple, smaller effect loci that arose after the primary, robust determinant was eliminated from the gene pool due to human intervention and founder effects.

What key difference in sex determination exists between wild Danio rerio and established lab strains?
speciesevolutionfishGeneticszebrafish