Showing papers on "Dosage compensation published in 1976"
TL;DR: It is hypothesized that the present sex chromosomes of A. atroparvus evolved by accumulation of sex determining factors and gene deterioration resulting in heterochromatinization of the long arms, followed by structural rearrangements.
Abstract: Anopheles atroparvus has two pairs of autosomes similar in length and morphology and two sex chromosomes with equal, heterochromatic, late replicating long arms with homologous C-, G-, and Q-bands. The short arm of the Y is shorter than that of the X and both are euchromatic. The mean number of chiasmata per cell in the male is 3.2. During mitosis there is a high grade of somatic pairing but X and Y, which form a heteropycnotic mass in the interphase nucleus, have a differential behaviour. The chronology of DNA replication was studied in spermatogonia and brain cells by autoradiography. It is hypothesized that the present sex chromosomes of A. atroparvus evolved by accumulation of sex determining factors and gene deterioration resulting in heterochromatinization of the long arms, followed by structural rearrangements.—The homology of the two sex chromosomes requires limited dosage compensation which is achieved either as in Drosophila by modifier genes or by accumulation on the short arm of the X, only of female determining factors which do not require dosage compensation.
23 citations
TL;DR: Results suggest that both arms of the X of D. pseudoobscura, are hyperactive and faster replicating in the male, which might arise due to a primary signal coming from autosomally located regulators controlling the super‐operon structure of theX chromosomal genes.
Abstract: SUMMARY
The two arms of the X chromosome of Drosophila pseudoobscura have different phylogenetic origin, the XL being homologous to the X and the XR homologous to the 3L of D. melanogaster. The replicative and transcriptive activities of the two arms have been examined in order to understand how such phylogenetically different components of the X contribute toward the chromosomal basis of dosage compensation. The 3H-uridine labelled autoradiograms of the polytene chromosomes of larval salivary glands reveal that the intensity of labelling in the XL and XR of the male is not significantly different from that in the two arms of the female, respectively. The number of grains on the two arms plotted against the grain number on an autosome follows a linear regression, and neither slope in the male is significantly different from its counterpart in the female. The 3H-thymidine autoradiograms show that in all phases of replication, viz. initial, middle and terminal, both arms of the X chromosome in the male are advanced by one step in the cycle. Results, therefore, suggest that both arms of the X of D. pseudoobscura, are hyperactive and faster replicating in the male. Such a situation might arise due to a primary signal coming from autosomally located regulators controlling the super-operon structure of the X chromosomal genes.
15 citations
TL;DR: This paper examines the possibilities for balancing selection in the kangaroo X chromosome system and shows that balanced polymorphisms are unlikely to occur.
Abstract: Female kangaroos and perhaps other female marsupials have a unique form of dosage compensation for X-linked genes in their soma. In these animals the paternal X is inactive. Heterozygote females therefore have the phenotype of one or the other of the homozygotes, with the allele which is expressed coming from their mother. The unexpressed paternally derived allele may, however, be transmitted to the next generation in the usual Mendelian manner and there be expressed. Such a combination of haploid phenotypic expression and diploid genotypic behaviour on the part of X-linked genes in kangaroos makes their population genetics unique. This paper examines the possibilities for balancing selection in the kangaroo X chromosome system and shows that balanced polymorphisms are unlikely to occur. If 1-a, 1, 1 - band' 1 are the selection coefficients of the 1X1 females, 1X2 females, 1X1 males and 1X2 males respectively (where 1X1 is the phenotype when A1 is expressed and 1X2 the phenotype when A2 is expressed), then the equilibrium is reached when the gene frequency of A1 in females = 0·5(a-1+b-1), which takes values between 0 and 1 for only a few of the biologically likely values of a and b.
13 citations
TL;DR: The hypothesis is put forward that RNA transcription in animal chromosomes is regulated at two levels by different mechanisms; the first one controls the extent of condensation of DNP of genetic loci and determines their competence to the second mechanism which involves the action of gene-specific activator proteins.
Abstract: A comparative radioautographic study of the RNA precursors incorporation on polytene chromosomes of Drosophila in vivo in the cells of salivary glands, and in vitro during incubation of E.coli RNA polymerase on slides with fixed chromosomes was performed.--The pattern of in vivo 3H-uridine incorporation on different sections of the chromosomes drastically differed from the in vitro 3H-UTP incorporation which seems to be much more related to DNA content of the individual small sections. In both cases puffing of the loci resulted in the increase of RNA synthesis but in vitro only 2-3 fold and in vivo much more. Hence, RNA synthesis in vitro was unspecific and did not reflect the in vivo RNA synthesis.--On the other hand, E.coli RNA polymerase completely mimics in vitro the dosage compensation phenomenon making twice as much RNA on one X-chromosome of males (1X2A) as on each of X-chromosomes of diploid (2X2A) and triploid (3X3A) females and super-females (3X2A), and the intermediate amount of RNA on each of X-chromosomes of intersexes (2X3A). It is suggested that the differences in the in vitro template activity of X-chromosomes of cells with different X:A ratio are due to different extent of condensation of their deoxyribonucleoprotein (DNP). Yet, both male and each of female X-chromosomes bind the same amount of thymus histone FI labelled with fluorochrome which indicates that they contain the same amount of "open" regions with exposed chromosomal DNA accessible to external proteins.--On the basis of these observations a hypothesis is put forward which suggests that RNA transcription in animal chromosomes is regulated at two levels by different mechanisms; the first one controls the extent of condensation of DNP of genetic loci and determines their competence to the second mechanism which involves the action of gene-specific activator proteins. According to this hypothesis the phenomenon of dosage compensation of sex-linked genes is due to decondensation of DNP of male X-chromosome which renders its loci twice as responsive to activators as compared to the same loci in females.
11 citations