As lower vertebrates, fishes have complex modes of sex determination. From the cytogenetic perspective, only a small proportion of fish species have heteromorphic sex chromosomes. At the present stage sex determination can only be explained via "genetics" rather than "genes" in most species. Nevertheless, genes associated with sex determination and male development were identified in a model fish medaka, Oryzias latipes. Sequences or genetic markers specific to certain sex chromosomes were reported in some fishes. These findings lay the groundwork for further studies on the function and regulation of sex genes aiming at elucidation of the mechanism of sex determination, and provide potential tool for sexing fish. In this minireview, progress in the past few decades in both cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies on sex determination of fish were summarized. Prospects, significance and possible future directions of the studies on fish sex determination were also discussed.
