Isodicentric Y Chromosomes and Sex Disorders as Byproducts of Homologous Recombination that Maintains Palindromes
Author(s)
Lange, Julian; Skaletsky, Helen; van Daalen, Saskia K.M.; Embry, Stephanie L.; Korver, Cindy M.; Brown, Laura G.; Oates, Robert D.; Silber, Sherman; Repping, Sjoerd; Page, David C; ... Show more Show less
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Massive palindromes in the human Y chromosome harbor mirror-image gene pairs essential for spermatogenesis. During evolution, these gene pairs have been maintained by intrapalindrome, arm-to-arm recombination. The mechanism of intrapalindrome recombination and risk of harmful effects are unknown. We report 51 patients with isodicentric Y (idicY) chromosomes formed by homologous crossing over between opposing arms of palindromes on sister chromatids. These ectopic recombination events occur at nearly all Y-linked palindromes. Based on our findings, we propose that intrapalindrome sequence identity is maintained via noncrossover pathways of homologous recombination. DNA double-strand breaks that initiate these pathways can be alternatively resolved by crossing over between sister chromatids to form idicY chromosomes, with clinical consequences ranging from spermatogenic failure to sex reversal and Turner syndrome. Our observations imply that crossover and noncrossover pathways are active in nearly all Y-linked palindromes, exposing an Achilles' heel in the mechanism that preserves palindrome-borne genes.
Date issued
2009-09Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchJournal
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
Lange, Julian, Helen Skaletsky, Saskia K.M. van Daalen, Stephanie L. Embry, Cindy M. Korver, Laura G. Brown, Robert D. Oates, Sherman Silber, Sjoerd Repping, and David C. Page. “Isodicentric Y Chromosomes and Sex Disorders as Byproducts of Homologous Recombination That Maintains Palindromes.” Cell 138, no. 5 (September 2009): 855–869. © 2009 Elsevier Inc.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
00928674
1097-4172