title: roX RNAs and Genome Regulation in Drosophila Melanogaster.
abstract: Organisms with dimorphic sex chromosomes suffer a potentially lethal imbalance in gene expression in one sex. Addressing this fundamental problem can be considered the first, and most essential, aspect of sexual differentiation. In the model organisms Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, and mouse, expression from X-linked genes is modulated by selective recruitment of chromatin-modifying complexes to X chromatin. In both flies and mammals, large noncoding RNAs have a central role in recruitment and activity of these complexes. This review will summarize current knowledge of the function of the noncoding roX genes in this process in Drosophila. Identification of an autosomal function for the roX RNAs raises intriguing questions about the origin of the modern dosage compensation system in flies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, 5047 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA, sk_koya@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: S Kiran
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Koya
authors.forename: Victoria H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Meller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors