The human Y chromosome, in the light of evolution.
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.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. blahn@genetics.uchicago.edu
B T
BT
Lahn
N M
NM
Pearson
K
K
Jegalian
D053523:Amelogenin; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
D053523:Amelogenin; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins