Meiotic Sex Chromosome Inactivation: Conservation across the Drosophila genus.

ABSTRACT: The inherent differences between sex chromosomes in males and females create conflicts in gene expression, driving the evolution of regulatory mechanisms such as Meiotic Sex Chromosome Inactivation (MSCI), a process that transcriptionally silences the sex chromosomes during male meiosis. In this study, we explore the evolutionary dynamics of MSCI within the Drosophila genus by analyzing transcriptomes across different stages of spermatogenesis in D. melanogaster and its progressively more distant relatives, D. simulans, D. willistoni, and D. mojavensis. Stage-enriched bulk RNA sequencing, showing a strong correlation in spermatogenic gene expression patterns among these species, revealed that MSCI dates back to the early evolution of the Drosophila genus, impacting the regulation of both c

SUBMITTER: Avelino CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12425233 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature