The human Y chromosome, in the light of evolution.

B T Lahn, N M Pearson, K Jegalian

Journal: Nature reviews. Genetics 2001;2(3):207-16

PMID: 11256072

Full Text on Nature Publishing Group View on PubMed

Abstract

Most eukaryotic chromosomes, akin to messy toolboxes, store jumbles of genes with diverse biological uses. The linkage of a gene to a particular chromosome therefore rarely hints strongly at that gene's function. One striking exception to this pattern of gene distribution is the human Y chromosome. Far from being random and diverse, known human Y-chromosome genes show just a few distinct expression profiles. Their relative functional conformity reflects evolutionary factors inherent to sex-specific chromosomes.

Address: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. [email protected]

DOI: 10.1038/35056058

Link outs

Subscription / membership required

Full Text Sources:

https://doi.org/10.1038/35056058

MeSH Terms: Amelogenin, Amino Acid Sequence, Biological Evolution, Dental Enamel Proteins, Genes, Homeobox, Genetic Linkage, Humans, Molecular Sequence Data, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Spermatogenesis, Y Chromosome