Publication Date:
2001-08-11
Description:
The X chromosomes of mammals and fruit flies exhibit unusual properties that have evolved to deal with the different dosages of X-linked genes in males (XY) and females (XX). The X chromosome dosage-compensation mechanisms discovered in these species are evolutionarily unrelated, but exhibit surprising parallels in their regulatory strategies. These features include the importance of noncoding RNAs, and epigenetic spreading of chromatin-modifying activities. Sex chromosomes have posed a fascinating puzzle for biologists. The dissimilar organization, gene content, and regulation of the X and Y chromosomes are thought to reflect selective forces acting on original pairs of identical chromosomes (1-3). The result in many organisms is a male-specific Y chromosome that has lost most of its original genetic content, and a difference in dosage of the X chromosome in males (XY) and females (XX).〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Park, Y -- Kuroda, M I -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2001 Aug 10;293(5532):1083-5.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11498577" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
Chromatin/metabolism
;
*Dosage Compensation, Genetic
;
Drosophila/genetics
;
Evolution, Molecular
;
Female
;
Genomic Imprinting
;
Histones/metabolism
;
Humans
;
Male
;
Mammals/genetics
;
RNA, Long Noncoding
;
RNA, Untranslated/genetics/metabolism
;
RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism
;
Transcription Factors/genetics/metabolism
;
Transcription, Genetic
;
X Chromosome/*genetics
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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