1.688 g/cm(3) satellite-related repeats: a missing link to dosage compensation and speciation

Despite the important progress that has been made on dosage compensation (DC), a critical link in our understanding of the X chromosome recognition mechanisms is still missing. Recent studies in Drosophila indicate that the missing link could be a family of DNA repeats populating the euchromatin of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular ecology 2015-09, Vol.24 (17), p.4340-4347
Main Author: Gallach, Miguel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Chromatin
DNA, Satellite - genetics
Dosage Compensation, Genetic
Drosophila - genetics
Evolution, Molecular
Female
Genetic Speciation
Male
Models, Genetic
Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
X Chromosome - genetics
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Despite the important progress that has been made on dosage compensation (DC), a critical link in our understanding of the X chromosome recognition mechanisms is still missing. Recent studies in Drosophila indicate that the missing link could be a family of DNA repeats populating the euchromatin of the X chromosome. In this opinion article, I discuss how these findings add a new fresh twist on the DC problem. In the following sections, I first summarize our understanding of DC in Drosophila and integrate these recent discoveries into our knowledge of the X chromosome recognition problem. Next, I introduce a model according to which, 1.688 g/cm(3) satellite-related (SR) repeats would be the primary recognition elements for the dosage compensation complex. Contrary to the current belief, I suggest that the DC system in Drosophila is not conserved and static, but it is continuously co-evolving with the target SR repeats. The potential role of the SR repeats in hybrid incompatibilities and speciation is also discussed.
ISSN:1365-294X
DOI:10.1111/mec.13335