Genetic control of sex-chromosome inactivation during male meiosis

Handel, Mary Ann; Park, C.; Kot, Mary C.

doi:10.1159/000133672

Cited by 38 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…But genetic investigations have suggested that it may be controlled in trans by factors originating from the autosomes (Handel et al, 1994). Inactivation of the sex chromosomes during spermatogenesis seems to be completely different from those controlling X-inactivation in somatic cells of female mammals (Armstrong et al, 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

M31, a murine homolog of Drosophila HP1, is concentrated in the XY body during spermatogenesis

Motzkus

Singh

Hoyer‐Fender

1999

Cytogenet Genome Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The formation of the sex vesicle, or XY body, during male meiosis and pairing of the sex chromosomes are thought to be essential for successful spermatogenesis. Despite its cytological discovery a century ago, the mechanism of XY body formation, particularly heterochromatinization of the sex chromosomes, has remained unclear. The HP1 class of chromobox genes are thought to encode proteins involved in the packaging of chromosomal DNA into repressive heterochromatin domains, as seen, for example, in position-effect variegation. Study of the distribution of a murine HP1-like chromodomain protein, M31, during spermatogenesis revealed spreading from the tip of the XY body in mid-stage pachytene spermatocytes to include the whole of the XY body in late-pachytene spermatocytes. We also demonstrate that the formation of the XY body during spermatogenic progression in neonatal mice coincides with the expression of a novel nuclear isoform of M31, M31^p21. These results support the view that a common mechanistic basis exists for heterochromatin-induced repression, homeotic gene silencing, and sex-chromosome inactivation during mammalian spermatogenesis.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

M31, a murine homolog of Drosophila HP1, is concentrated in the XY body during spermatogenesis

Motzkus

Singh

Hoyer‐Fender

1999

Cytogenet Genome Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…More recent studies have provided empirical support for MSCI in a variety of species, including mammals (Richler et al, 1992;Handel et al, 1994;Turner, 2007), Caenorhabditis elegans (Fong et al, 2002;Kelly et al, 2002) and D. melanogaster (Hense et al, 2007;Vibranovski et al, 2009a). However, there is currently debate regarding the extent of X-linked germline expression silencing in Drosophila and whether it occurs through the same mechanism described as MSCI in other taxa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Escaping’ the X chromosome leads to increased gene expression in the male germline of Drosophila melanogaster

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Genomic analyses of Drosophila species suggest that the X chromosome presents an unfavourable environment for the expression of genes in the male germline. A previous study in D. melanogaster used a reporter gene driven by a testis-specific promoter to show that expression was greatly reduced when the gene was inserted onto the X chromosome as compared with the autosomes. However, a limitation of this study was that only the expression regulated by a single, autosomal-derived promoter was investigated. To test for an increase in expression associated with 'escaping' the X chromosome, we analysed reporter gene expression driven by the promoters of three X-linked, testis-expressed genes (CG10920, CG12681 and CG1314) that were inserted randomly throughout the D. melanogaster genome. In all cases, insertions on the autosomes showed significantly higher expression than those on the X chromosome. Thus, even genes whose regulation has adapted to the X-chromosomal environment show increased male germline expression when relocated to an autosome. Our results provide direct experimental evidence for the suppression of X-linked gene expression in the Drosophila male germline that is independent of gene dose.

show abstract

“…However, no mouse sex chromosome-linked mutants with meiosis-specific defects have been reported, leading to the perception that meiosis-specific factors are rarely if ever encoded by the sex chromosomes (Matzuk and Lamb 2002). This could result from an evolutionary situation set up by the process of meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) that silences the transcriptional activity of the X and Y chromosomes during meiosis (Solari 1974;Handel et al 1994). Our previous study that systematically identified germ cell-specific genes from mouse spermatogonia revealed that nearly one-third of these genes are located on the X chromosome (Wang et al 2001).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Meiotic failure in male mice lacking an X-linked factor

Fang¹,

Gell²,

Heijden³

et al. 2008

Genes Dev.

159

192

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meiotic silencing of sex chromosomes may cause their depletion of meiosis-specific genes during evolution. Here, we challenge this hypothesis by reporting the identification of TEX11 as the first X-encoded meiosis-specific factor in mice. TEX11 forms discrete foci on synapsed regions of meiotic chromosomes and appears to be a novel constituent of meiotic nodules involved in recombination. Loss of TEX11 function causes chromosomal asynapsis and reduced crossover formation, leading to elimination of spermatocytes, respectively, at the pachytene and anaphase I stages. Specifically, TEX11-deficient spermatocytes with asynapsed autosomes undergo apoptosis at the pachytene stage, while those with only asynapsed sex chromosomes progress. However, cells that survive the pachytene stage display chromosome nondisjunction at the first meiotic division, resulting in cell death and male infertility. TEX11 interacts with SYCP2, which is an integral component of the synaptonemal complex lateral elements. Thus, TEX11 promotes initiation and/or maintenance of synapsis and formation of crossovers, and may provide a physical link between these two meiotic processes.[Keywords: TEX11; male infertility; meiosis; synapsis; meiotic recombination; X chromosome] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

show abstract

Genetic control of sex-chromosome inactivation during male meiosis

Cited by 38 publications

References 15 publications

M31, a murine homolog of Drosophila HP1, is concentrated in the XY body during spermatogenesis

M31, a murine homolog of Drosophila HP1, is concentrated in the XY body during spermatogenesis

‘Escaping’ the X chromosome leads to increased gene expression in the male germline of Drosophila melanogaster

Meiotic failure in male mice lacking an X-linked factor

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About