X chromosome inactivation during Drosophila spermatogenesis.

ABSTRACT: 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. Autosoma

SUBMITTER: Hense W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2001211 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature