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Relative overexpression of X-linked genes in mouse embryonic stem cells is consistent with Ohno's hypothesis

Nature Genetics volume 43, pages 1169–1170 (2011)Cite this article

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To the Editor:

In a recent issue of Nature Genetics, Xiong et al.1 presented an analysis of published RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data that they claimed shows that genes on the X chromosome were not expressed at higher levels than autosomal genes, thus refuting Ohno's hypothesis2 and “...necessitating a major revision of the current model of dosage compensation in the evolution of sex chromosomes.” The authors gave reasons to dismiss previous data-mining studies by Nguyen and Disteche3 and Gupta et al.4, as well as a study from our group that included experiments specifically designed to measure X-linked gene expression in embryonic stem (ES) cells5, all of which provided data supporting Ohno's hypothesis. Here we present further analysis of our experimental results, thereby both confirming our original interpretation and refuting the criticisms of Xiong and colleagues.

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Figure 1: Distribution of gene expression levels on individual mouse chromosomes.

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Gene Expression Omnibus

References

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Acknowledgements

Work in the authors' laboratories is supported by Cancer Research UK.

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Author notes

  1. Hong Lin

    Present address: Present address: National Blood Service, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, UK.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chromatin and Gene Expression Group, Institute of Biomedical Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Hong Lin, John A Halsall, Laura P O'Neill & Bryan M Turner

  2. School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Philipp Antczak & Francesco Falciani

Authors
  1. Hong Lin
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  2. John A Halsall
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  3. Philipp Antczak
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  4. Laura P O'Neill
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  5. Francesco Falciani
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  6. Bryan M Turner
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Correspondence to Bryan M Turner.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Lin, H., Halsall, J., Antczak, P. et al. Relative overexpression of X-linked genes in mouse embryonic stem cells is consistent with Ohno's hypothesis. Nat Genet 43, 1169–1170 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.992

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