An interstitial deletion in mouse Y chromosomal DNA created a transcribed Zfy fusion gene.
The small portion of the mouse Y chromosome retained in the Sxra transposition is thought to carry at least five genes including, as demonstrated here, the entirety of the zinc-finger genes Zfy-1 and Zfy-2. Sxrb, a derivative of Sxra, was previously thought to retain Zfy-1 but to be deleted for Zfy-2. Here we show that Sxrb differs from Sxra as the result of unequal crossing-over between Zfy-1 and Zfy-2. This unequal crossing-over created a transcribed Zfy-2/1 fusion gene and an interstitial deletion. Our data and previous results together suggest that this deletion encompassed the 3' portion of Zfy-2, the histocompatibility gene Hya, the spermatogenesis factor Spy, and the 5' portion of Zfy-1. We suggest that not only Zfy but also other neighboring genes such as Spy and Hya may exist in two copies on the Y as the result of a large tandem duplication during rodent evolution.
Simpson
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Howard Hughes Research Laboratories, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003360:Cosmids / Q000235:genetics; D003434:Crossing Over, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D015342:DNA Probes / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014998:Y Chromosome; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
D015342:DNA Probes