Abstract
IN mammals, equal dosage of gene products encoded by the X chromosome in male and female cells is achieved by X inactivation. Although X-chromosome inactivation represents the most extensive example known of long range cis gene regulation, the mechanism by which thousands of genes on only one of a pair of identical chromosomes are turned off is poorly understood. We have recently identified a human gene (XIST) exclusively expressed from the inactive X chromosome1. Here we report the isolation and characterization of its murine homologue (Xist) which localizes to the mouse X inactivation centre region and is the first murine gene found to be expressed from the inactive X chromosome. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicates that Xist may be associated with a protein product. The similar map positions and expression patterns for Xist in mouse and man suggest that this gene may have a role in X inactivation.
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Borsani, G., Tonlorenzi, R., Simmler, M. et al. Characterization of a murine gene expressed from the inactive X chromosome. Nature 351, 325–329 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/351325a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/351325a0
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