A new study has shed light on the mystery of how the
Y chromosome of male fruitflies can contribute to
phenotypic differences, despite the fact that this
chromosome has little sequence polymorphism in its
protein-coding genes.
Lemos et al. built on previous findings that Y
chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster show
extensive variation in repeat sequences, which is known to contribute to
differences in Y chromosome heterochromatin. Such heterochromatin
differences have previously been shown to contribute to Y-linked regulatory
variation (YRV) of gene expression. The new evidence suggests that repeat
polymorphism on the D. melanogaster Y chromosome mediates its effects
through altering global chromatin dynamics.
Nature Reviews Genetics 11, 670-671 (October 2010) |
doi:10.1038/nrg2874
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