The Biology and Evolution of Mammalian Y Chromosomes
Name
Hughes_Page_AnnRevGenet2015[1].pdf
Size
1.47 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
d71f199e3d8aaae9783ef267bc028859
Author(s)
Page, David C
Hughes, Jennifer F.
Date Issued
October 2015
Journal
Annual Review of Genetics
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Citation
Hughes, Jennifer F., and Page, David C.. “The Biology and Evolution of Mammalian Y Chromosomes.” Annual Review of Genetics 49, no. 1 (November 23, 2015): 507–527. © 2015 by Annual Reviews.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Mammals have the oldest sex chromosome system known: the mammalian X and Y chromosomes evolved from ordinary autosomes beginning at least 180 million years ago. Despite their shared ancestry, mammalian Y chromosomes display enormous variation among species in size, gene content, and structural complexity. Several unique features of the Y chromosome—its lack of a homologous partner for crossing over, its functional specialization for spermatogenesis, and its high degree of sequence amplification—contribute to this extreme variation. However, amid this evolutionary turmoil many commonalities have been revealed that have contributed to our understanding of the selective pressures driving the evolution and biology of the Y chromosome. Two biological themes have defined Y-chromosome research over the past six decades: testis determination and spermatogenesis. A third biological theme begins to emerge from recent insights into the Y chromosome's roles beyond the reproductive tract—a theme that promises to broaden the reach of Y-chromosome research by shedding light on fundamental sex differences in human health and disease.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-112414-055311
