Sex and death in birds: A model of dosage compensation that predicts lethality of sex chromosome aneuploids

2003 ◽  
Vol 101 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 278-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A.M. Graves
Keyword(s):  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosome

scholarly journals Absence of X-chromosome dosage compensation in the primordial germ cells of Drosophila embryos

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoma Ota ◽  
Makoto Hayashi ◽  
Shumpei Morita ◽  
Hiroki Miura ◽  
Satoru Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Histone H4 ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Msl Complex ◽  
Male Specific

AbstractDosage compensation is a mechanism that equalizes sex chromosome gene expression between the sexes. In Drosophila, individuals with two X chromosomes (XX) become female, whereas males have one X chromosome (XY). In males, dosage compensation of the X chromosome in the soma is achieved by five proteins and two non-coding RNAs, which assemble into the male-specific lethal (MSL) complex to upregulate X-linked genes twofold. By contrast, it remains unclear whether dosage compensation occurs in the germline. To address this issue, we performed transcriptome analysis of male and female primordial germ cells (PGCs). We found that the expression levels of X-linked genes were approximately twofold higher in female PGCs than in male PGCs. Acetylation of lysine residue 16 on histone H4 (H4K16ac), which is catalyzed by the MSL complex, was undetectable in these cells. In male PGCs, hyperactivation of X-linked genes and H4K16ac were induced by overexpression of the essential components of the MSL complex, which were expressed at very low levels in PGCs. Together, these findings indicate that failure of MSL complex formation results in the absence of X-chromosome dosage compensation in male PGCs.

scholarly journals Evolution of dosage compensation does not depend on genomic background

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail Rovatsos ◽  
Lukáš Kratochvíl
Keyword(s):  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Genomic Region ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
Gene Dose ◽  
Copy Numbers ◽  
Compensation Mechanisms ◽  
Gene Copy Numbers ◽  
Softshell Turtles

AbstractOrganisms evolved various mechanisms to cope with the differences in the gene copy numbers between sexes caused by degeneration of Y and W sex chromosomes. Complete dosage compensation or at least expression balance between sexes was reported predominantly in XX/XY, but rarely in ZZ/ZW systems. However, this often-reported pattern is based on comparisons of lineages where sex chromosomes evolved from non-homologous genomic regions, potentially differing in sensitivity to differences in gene copy numbers. Here we document that two reptilian lineages (XX/XY iguanas and ZZ/ZW softshell turtles), which independently co-opted the same ancestral genomic region for the function of sex chromosomes, evolved different gene dose regulatory mechanisms. The independent co-option of the same genomic region for the role of sex chromosome as in the iguanas and the softshell turtles offers a great opportunity for testing evolutionary scenarios on the sex chromosome evolution under the explicit control for the genomic background and for gene identity. We showed that the parallel loss of functional genes from the Y chromosome of the green anole and the W chromosome of the Florida softshell turtle led to different dosage compensation mechanisms. Our approach controlling for genetic background thus does not support that the variability in the regulation of the gene dose differences is a consequence of ancestral autosomal gene content.

scholarly journals Parallel Universes for Models of X Chromosome Dosage Compensation in Drosophila: A Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Birchler
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Histone Modifiers ◽  
Parallel Universes ◽  
Msl Complex ◽  
High Level

Dosage compensation in Drosophila involves an approximately 2-fold increase in expression of the single X chromosome in males compared to the per gene expression in females with 2 X chromosomes. Two models have been considered for an explanation. One proposes that the male-specific lethal (MSL) complex that is associated with the male X chromosome brings histone modifiers to the sex chromosome to increase its expression. The other proposes that the inverse effect which results from genomic imbalance would tend to upregulate the genome approximately 2-fold, but the MSL complex sequesters histone modifiers from the autosomes to the X to mute this autosomal male-biased expression. On the X, the MSL complex must override the high level of resulting histone modifications to prevent overcompensation of the X chromosome. Each model is evaluated in terms of fitting classical genetic and recent molecular data. Potential paths toward resolving the models are suggested.

scholarly journals Extreme heterogeneity in sex chromosome differentiation and dosage compensation in livebearers

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (38) ◽  
pp. 19031-19036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iulia Darolti ◽  
Alison E. Wright ◽  
Benjamin A. Sandkam ◽  
Jake Morris ◽  
Natasha I. Bloch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Chromosome Differentiation ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Shared Ancestry ◽  
Suppressed Recombination

Once recombination is halted between the X and Y chromosomes, sex chromosomes begin to differentiate and transition to heteromorphism. While there is a remarkable variation across clades in the degree of sex chromosome divergence, far less is known about the variation in sex chromosome differentiation within clades. Here, we combined whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing data to characterize the structure and conservation of sex chromosome systems across Poeciliidae, the livebearing clade that includes guppies. We found that the Poecilia reticulata XY system is much older than previously thought, being shared not only with its sister species, Poecilia wingei, but also with Poecilia picta, which diverged roughly 20 million years ago. Despite the shared ancestry, we uncovered an extreme heterogeneity across these species in the proportion of the sex chromosome with suppressed recombination, and the degree of Y chromosome decay. The sex chromosomes in P. reticulata and P. wingei are largely homomorphic, with recombination in the former persisting over a substantial fraction. However, the sex chromosomes in P. picta are completely nonrecombining and strikingly heteromorphic. Remarkably, the profound degradation of the ancestral Y chromosome in P. picta is counterbalanced by the evolution of functional chromosome-wide dosage compensation in this species, which has not been previously observed in teleost fish. Our results offer important insight into the initial stages of sex chromosome evolution and dosage compensation.

scholarly journals High-resolution transcriptional profiling of Anopheles gambiae spermatogenesis reveals mechanisms of sex chromosome regulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysanthi Taxiarchi ◽  
Nace Kranjc ◽  
Antonios Kriezis ◽  
Kyros Kyrou ◽  
Federica Bernardini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anopheles Gambiae ◽  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Transcriptional Repression ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Differential Expression Analysis ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Cell Lineages ◽  
Targeted Analysis

Abstract Although of high priority for the development of genetic tools to control malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, only a few germline-specific regulatory regions have been characterised to date and the presence of global regulatory mechanisms, such as dosage compensation and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), are mostly assumed from transcriptomic analyses of reproductive tissues or whole gonads. In such studies, samples include a significant portion of somatic tissues inevitably complicating the reconstruction of a defined transcriptional map of gametogenesis. By exploiting recent advances in transgenic technologies and gene editing tools, combined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting and RNA sequencing, we have separated four distinct cell lineages from the Anopheles gambiae male gonads: premeiotic, meiotic (primary and secondary spermatocytes) and postmeiotic. By comparing the overall expression levels of X-linked and autosomal genes across the four populations, we revealed a striking transcriptional repression of the X chromosome coincident with the meiotic phase, classifiable as MSCI, and highlighted genes that may evade silencing. In addition, chromosome-wide median expression ratios of the premeiotic population confirmed the absence of dosage compensation in the male germline. Applying differential expression analysis, we highlighted genes and transcript isoforms enriched at specific timepoints and reconstructed the expression dynamics of the main biological processes regulating the key stages of sperm development and maturation. We generated the first transcriptomic atlas of A. gambiae spermatogenesis that will expand the available toolbox for the genetic engineering of vector control technologies. We also describe an innovative and multidimensional approach to isolate specific cell lineages that can be used for the targeted analysis of other A. gambiae organs or transferred to other medically relevant species and model organisms.

scholarly journals Comparative Sex Chromosome Genomics in Snakes: Differentiation, Evolutionary Strata, and Lack of Global Dosage Compensation

PLoS Biology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e1001643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Vicoso ◽  
J. J. Emerson ◽  
Yulia Zektser ◽  
Shivani Mahajan ◽  
Doris Bachtrog
Keyword(s):  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosome

A Bird's-Eye View of Sex Chromosome Dosage Compensation

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur P. Arnold ◽  
Yuichiro Itoh ◽  
Esther Melamed
Keyword(s):  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosome

scholarly journals Finding a Balance: How Diverse Dosage Compensation Strategies Modify Histone H4 to Regulate Transcription

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Michael B. Wells ◽  
Györgyi Csankovszki ◽  
Laura M. Custer
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Histone H4 ◽  
Linked Gene ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Gene Expression Levels

Dosage compensation balances gene expression levels between the sex chromosomes and autosomes and sex-chromosome-linked gene expression levels between the sexes. Different dosage compensation strategies evolved in different lineages, but all involve changes in chromatin. This paper discusses our current understanding of how modifications of the histone H4 tail, particularly changes in levels of H4 lysine 16 acetylation and H4 lysine 20 methylation, can be used in different contexts to either modulate gene expression levels twofold or to completely inhibit transcription.

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