An evolutionary consequence of dosage compensation on Drosophila melanogaster female X-chromatin structure?
BMC Genomics, 2010/1/05;11:6.
Affiliations
PMID: 20051121DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-11-6
Impact factor: 4.547
Abstract
background: X chromosomes are subject to dosage compensation in Drosophila males. Dosage compensation requires cis sequence features of the X chromosome that are present in both sexes by definition and trans acting factors that target chromatin modifying machinery to the X specifically in males. The evolution of this system could result in neutral X chromatin changes that will be apparent in females.
results: We find that the general chromatin structure of female X chromosomes is distinct from autosomes. Additionally, specific histone marks associated with dosage compensation and active chromatin marks on the male X chromosome are also enriched on the X chromosomes of females, albeit to a lesser degree.
conclusions: Our data indicate that X chromatin structure is fundamentally different from autosome structure in both sexes. We suggest that the differences between the X chromosomes and autosomes in females are a consequence of mechanisms that have evolved to ensure sufficient X chromosome expression in the soma of males.
MeSH terms
Animals; Chromatin; Dosage Compensation, Genetic; Drosophila melanogaster; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Histones; Male; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; X Chromosome
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