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Dosage compensation

About: Dosage compensation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1920 publications have been published within this topic receiving 124589 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
Min-Qiu Sun1, Peng Lin, Yun Chen, Yi-Lei Wang, Ziping Zhang 
TL;DR: In this article, a review summarizes the similarities and differences among dosage compensation mechanisms of nematodes, fruit flies and mammals, as well as molecular mechanism of dosage compensation in fruit fly, and finally addresses some problems to be resolved.
Abstract: Dosage compensation effect, which exists widely in eukaryotes with sexual reproduction, is an essential biological process that equalizes the level of gene expression between genders based on sex determination. In Drosophila, the male-specific lethal (MSL) complex mediates dosage compensation by acetylating histone H4 lysine K16 on nucleosome of some specific sites on the male X chromosome, globally upregulates twofold expression of active X-linked genes from the single X chromosome, and makes up for the shortage that the male has only one single X chromosome in male Drosophila. Up to date, the structure of basic components of MSL complex, which consists of at least five protein subunits and two non-coding RNAs, has already been revealed, and the interaction sites among these components have also been generally identified. Furthermore, abundant researches on recognition mechanism of the complex have been published. In contrast, many studies have revealed that mammalian dosage compensation functions by silencing gene expression from one of the two X chromosomes in females. The main components of mammalian MSL complex have already been identified, but the knowledge of their function is limited. Up to now, research of MSLs in teleosts is scarcely studied. This review summarizes the similarities and differences among dosage compensation mechanisms of nematodes, fruit flies and mammals, introduces the recent research advances in MSL complex, as well as molecular mechanism of dosage compensation in fruit fly, and finally addresses some problems to be resolved. Meanwhile, the diversity of msl3 gene in fishes is found by synteny analysis. This information might provide insightful directions for future research on the mechanisms of dosage compensation in various species.

1 citations

01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: Evolution of mechanisms able to equalize in both sexes the amount of products derived from sex-linked genes is understood in some detail in the fly Drosophilamelanogaster, thenematode Caenorhabditis elegans and in eutherian mammals.
Abstract: Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, SpainDegeneration of sex-limited chromosomes generates the need for dosage compensationmechanisms able to equalize in both sexes the amount of products derived from sex-linkedgenes. Evolution of these mechanisms is understood in some detail in the fly Drosophilamelanogaster,thenematodeCaenorhabditis elegans and in eutherian mammals.

1 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Some protein complexes bind DNA elements and then spread to exert gene regulation over broad domains, and new studies have teased out rules for its recruitment and spreading over X chromosomes.

1 citations

Posted ContentDOI
15 Feb 2021-bioRxiv
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied the molecular mechanisms of sex determination in the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Pyralidae), and found that the C-terminal proline-rich domain, in conjunction with the masculinizing domain, is important for transcriptional regulation in Lepidoptera.
Abstract: Sex determination in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is based on Feminizer (Fem), a W-linked Fem piRNA that triggers female development in WZ individuals, and the Z-linked Masculinizer (Masc), which initiates male development and dosage compensation in ZZ individuals. While Fem piRNA is missing in a close relative of B. mori, Masc determines sex in several representatives of distant lepidopteran lineages. We studied the molecular mechanisms of sex determination in the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Pyralidae). We identified an E. kuehniella Masc ortholog, EkMasc, and its paralog resulting from a recent duplication, EkMascB. Both genes are located on the Z chromosome and encode a similar Masc protein that contains two conserved domains but has lost the conserved double zinc finger domain. We developed PCR-based genetic sexing and demonstrated a peak in the expression of EkMasc and EkMascB genes only in early male embryos. Simultaneous knock-down experiments of both EkMasc and EkMascB using RNAi during early embryogenesis led to a shift from male- to female-specific splicing of the E. kuehniella doublesex gene (Ekdsx), their downstream effector, in ZZ embryos and resulted in a strong female-biased sex-ratio. Our results thus confirmed the conserved role of both EkMasc and EkMascB genes in masculinization. We suggest that the C-terminal proline-rich domain, we have identified in all functionally confirmed Masc proteins, in conjunction with the masculinizing domain, is important for transcriptional regulation of sex determination in Lepidoptera. The function of the Masc double zinc finger domain is still unknown, but appears to have been lost in E. kuehniella. Author summary The sex-determining cascade in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, differs greatly from those of other insects. In B. mori, female development is initiated by Fem piRNA expressed from the W chromosome during early embryogenesis. Fem piRNA silences Masculinizer (Masc) thereby blocking the male pathway resulting in female development. It is currently unknown whether this cascade is conserved across Lepidoptera. In the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella, we identified an ortholog of Masc and discovered its functional duplication on the Z chromosome, which has not yet been found in any other lepidopteran species. We provide two lines of evidence that both the EkMasc and EkMascB genes play an essential role in masculinization: (i) they show a peak of expression during early embryogenesis in ZZ but not in WZ embryos and (ii) their silencing by RNAi results in female-specific splicing of the E. kuehniella doublesex gene (Ekdsx) in ZZ embryos and in a female-biased sex ratio. Our results suggest a conserved role of the duplicated Masc gene in sex determination of E. kuehniella.

1 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202330
202272
202183
202051
201980
201870