The male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) in mice has been difficult to sequence because its repetitive nature and resistance to recombination preclude the accurate mapping of sequence reads. Soh et al. developed the single-haplotype iterative mapping and sequencing (SHIMS) method and report a reference MSY sequence to ~99% completion. Although the placental mammals have a shared evolutionary origin of Y chromosomes, the mouse MSY is strikingly different from its primate counterparts: its intrachromosomal amplification of testis-expressed genes is far more extensive, meaning that it has a highly genic and euchromatic make-up, in contrast to the largely heterochromatic human Y chromosome.
References
Soh, Y. Q. S. et al. Sequencing the mouse Y chromosome reveals convergent gene acquisition and amplification on both sex chromosomes. Cell http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.09.052 (2014)
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Burgess, D. A high-quality mouse Y chromosome sequence. Nat Rev Genet 15, 781 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg3866
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg3866
