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Letter

Nature Cell Biology 8, 293–299 (1 March 2006) | doi:10.1038/ncb1365

Transient colocalization of X-inactivation centres accompanies the initiation of X inactivation

Christian P. Bacher , Mich|[egrave]|le Guggiari , Benedikt Brors , Sandrine Augui , Philippe Clerc , Philip Avner , Roland Eils & Edith Heard

The initial differential treatment of the two X chromosomes during X-chromosome inactivation is controlled by the X-inactivation centre (Xic). This locus determines how many X chromosomes are present in a cell ('counting') and which X chromosome will be inactivated in female cells ('choice').