A search of a 35-kilobase region of the human Y chromosome necessary for male sex determination has resulted in the identification of a new gene. This gene is conserved and Y-specific among a wide range of mammals, and encodes a testis-specific transcript. It shares homology with the mating-type protein, Mc, from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and a conserved DNA-binding motif present in the nuclear high-mobility-group proteins HMG1 and HMG2. This gene has been termed SRY (for sex-determining region Y) and proposed to be a candidate for the elusive testis-determining gene, TDF.

A gene from the human sex-determining region encodes a protein with homology to a conserved DNA-binding motif

TELOMERES DEFINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579 TELOMERE FUNCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580 SEQUENCE AND STRUCTURE OF TELOMERES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 SOLUTIONS FOR REPLICATION OF DNA TERMINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 STRUCTURE OF SUBTELOMERIC REGIONS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 FORMA TION OF TELOMERES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . .. 591 PROTEINS THAT INTERACT WITH TELOMERES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 ARE TELOMERES REALLY ESSENTIAL? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 FUTURE PROSPECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

Structure and function of telomeres

A gene mapping to the sex-determining region of the mouse Y chromosome is deleted in a line of XY female mice mutant for Tdy, and is expressed at a stage during male gonadal development consistent with its having a role in testis determination. This gene is a member of a new family of at least five mouse genes, related by an amino-acid motif showing homology to other known or putative DNA-binding domains.

A gene mapping to the sex-determining region of the mouse Y chromosome is a member of a novel family of embryonically expressed genes

DNA methylation has recently moved to centre stage in the aetiology of human neurodevelopmental syndromes such as the fragile X, ICF and Rett syndromes. These diseases result from the misregulation of genes that occurs with the loss of appropriate epigenetic controls during neuronal development. Recent advances have connected DNA methylation to chromatin-remodelling enzymes, and understanding this link will be central to the design of new therapeutic tools.

DNA methylation in health and disease

https://biosci-batzerlab.biology.lsu.edu/Publications/Deininger_and_Batzer_1999_Mol_Genetics_and_Metabolism.pdf

Alu repeats and human disease.

A Deletion Map of the Human Y Chromosome Based on DNA Hybridization

The genomes of 27 individuals (19 XX males, two XX hermaphrodites, and six persons with microscopically detectable anomalies of the Y chromosome) were analyzed by hybridization for the presence or absence of 23 Y-specific DNA restriction fragments. Y-specific DNA was detected in 12 of the XX males and in all six individuals with microscopic anomalies. The results are consistent with each of these individuals carrying a single contiguous portion of the Y chromosome; that is, the results suggest a deletion map of the Y chromosome, in which each of the 23 Y-specific restriction fragments tested can be assigned to one of seven intervals. We have established the polarity of this map with respect to the long and short arms of the Y chromosome. On the short arm, there is a large cluster of sequences homologous to the X chromosome. The testis determinant(s) map to one of the intervals on the short arm.

A deletion map of the human Y chromosome based on DNA hybridization.

Three independent pseudoautosomal loci are linked to sex determination at frequencies which define a gradient of linkage. The segregation patterns of these loci indicate that X/Y recombination results from a single obligatory meiotic crossing-over in the pseudoautosomal region. Recombination in male germ cells in the terminal regions of the short arms of the X and Y chromosomes in 10-fold greater than between the same regions of the X chromosomes in female germ cells.

A gradient of sex linkage in the pseudoautosomal region of the human sex chromosomes.

A DNA probe from a human Y chromosome-derived cosmid detects a single-copy genomic DNA fragment which can appear in different allelic forms shared by both sex chromosomes Variants at this DNA locus show an autosomal pattern of inheritance, undergo recombination with sexual phenotype and can therefore be described as ‘pseudoautosomal’ Another probe from the same cosmid detects a sequence repeated 15–20 times per haploid genome These repeats also appear pseudoautosomal and map exclusively to the short-arm terminal region of each sex chromosome

Pseudoautosomal DNA sequences in the pairing region of the human sex chromosomes.

https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/0092-8674(87)90637-4.pdf

François Rouyer

Papers

A Deletion Map of the Human Y Chromosome Based on DNA Hybridization

A deletion map of the human Y chromosome based on DNA hybridization.

A gradient of sex linkage in the pseudoautosomal region of the human sex chromosomes.

Pseudoautosomal DNA sequences in the pairing region of the human sex chromosomes.

A sex chromosome rearrangement in a human XX male caused by Alu-Alu recombination.