Review
Nature Reviews Genetics 2, 207-216 (March 2001) | doi:10.1038/35056058
The human Y chromosome, in the light of evolution
Bruce T. Lahn1, Nathaniel M. Pearson1,2 & Karin Jegalian3 About the authors
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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.
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Author affiliations
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. Email: blahn@genetics.uchicago.edu
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. Email: n-pearson@uchicago.edu
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9,000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda , Maryland 20892, USA.
