title: Sex, sex chromosomes and gene expression.
abstract: The X chromosome has fewer testis-specific genes than autosomes in many species. This bias is commonly attributed to X inactivation in spermatogenesis but a recent paper in BMC Biology provides evidence against X inactivation in Drosophila and proposes that somatic tissue- and testis- but not ovary-specific genes tend not to be located on the X chromosome. Here, we discuss possible mechanisms underlying this bias, including sexual antagonism and dosage compensation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Disease Genomics and Individualized Medicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Chung-I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017344:Genes, Insect; D012730:Sex Chromosomes; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D014960:X Chromosome; D049951:X Chromosome Inactivation