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volume 13 number 2 page 227 A synaptobrevin-like gene in the Xq28 pseudoautosomal region undergoes X inactivation Maurizio D'Esposito1, Alfredo Ciccodicola1,2, Fernando Gianfrancesco1, Teresa Esposito1,2, Luisa Flagiello1, Richard Mazzarella3, David Schlessinger3 & Michele D'Urso1 The X and Y chromosomes that maintain human dimorphism are thought to have descended from a single progenitor, with the Y chromosome becoming largely depleted of genes1. A number of genes, however, retain copies on both X and Y chromosomes and escape the inactivation that affects most X-linked genes in somatic cells2. Many of those genes are present in two pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) at the termini of the short (p)3 and long (q)4,5 arms of the sex chromosomes. For both PARs, pairing facilitates the exchange of information, ensuring the homogenisation of X and Y chromosomal material in these regions6�10. We report here a strikingly different regulation of expression of a gene in Xq PAR. Unlike all Xp PAR genes studied so far, a synaptobrevin-like gene, tentatively named SYBL1, undergoes X inactivation. In addition, it is also inactive on the Y chromosome, thereby maintaining dosage compensation in an unprecedented way.
1International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, CNR, Via Marconi 10, 80125 Naples, Italy |
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