title: Disruption of FEM1C-W gene in zebra finch: evolutionary insights on avian ZW genes.
abstract: Sex chromosome genes control sex determination and differentiation, but the mechanisms of sex determination in birds are unknown. In this study, we analyzed the gene FEM1C which is highly conserved from Caenorhabditis elegans to higher vertebrates and interacts with the sex determining pathway in C. elegans. We found that FEM1C is located on the Z and W chromosome of zebra finches and probably other Passerine birds, but shows only Z linkage in other avian orders. In the zebra finch, FEM1C-W is degraded because of a point mutation and possibly because of loss of the first exon containing the start methionine. Thus, FEM1C-W appears to have degenerated or been lost from most bird species. FEM1C-Z is expressed in a cytoplasmic location in zebra finch fibroblast cells, as in C. elegans. FEM1C represents an interesting example of evolutionary degradation of a W chromosome gene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Science, University of California, UCLA 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Room 4117, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA. yitoh@physci.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kampf
authors.forename: Arthur P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Arnold
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D046369:Finches / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012730:Sex Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C115306:FEM-1 protein, C elegans