X chromosome inactivation during Drosophila spermatogenesis

被引:110
作者
Hense, Winfried [1 ]
Baines, John F. [1 ]
Parsch, John [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Munich, Dept Biol 2, Planegg Martinsried, Germany
关键词
D O I
10.1371/journal.pbio.0050273
中图分类号
Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];
学科分类号
071010 ; 081704 ;
摘要
Genes with male- and testis-enriched expression are under-represented on the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome. There is also an excess of retrotransposed genes, many of which are expressed in testis, that have "escaped'' the X chromosome and moved to the autosomes. It has been proposed that inactivation of the X chromosome during spermatogenesis contributes to these patterns: genes with a beneficial function late in spermatogenesis should be selectively favored to be autosomal in order to avoid inactivation. However, conclusive evidence for X inactivation in the male germline has been lacking. To test for such inactivation, we used a transgenic construct in which expression of a lacZ reporter gene was driven by the promoter sequence of the autosomal, testis-specific ocnus gene. Autosomal insertions of this transgene showed the expected pattern of male-and testis-specific expression. X-linked insertions, in contrast, showed only very low levels of reporter gene expression. Thus, we find that X linkage inhibits the activity of a testis-specific promoter. We obtained the same result using a vector in which the transgene was flanked by chromosomal insulator sequences. These results are consistent with global inactivation of the X chromosome in the male germline and support a selective explanation for X chromosome avoidance of genes with beneficial effects late in spermatogenesis.
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收藏
页码:2288 / 2295
页数:8
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