The human Y chromosome: rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated.
Recent papers by David Page and his collaborators present an intriguing new face to the human Y chromosome, including eight massive palindromic arrays, most of which contain multi-copy pairs of testis-specific genes. Sequence pairs within the arms of these palindromic sequences retain a high degree of similarity, suggesting that intrachromosomal gene conversion is frequent, perhaps providing a means of maintaining the integrity of individual members of the array.
Hawley
R Scott
RS
Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA. rsh@stowers-institute.org
D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics*; D024282:Genes, sry / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D019849:Sex Determination Processes