title: Sequencing the mouse Y chromosome reveals convergent gene acquisition and amplification on both sex chromosomes.
abstract: We sequenced the MSY (male-specific region of the Y chromosome) of the C57BL/6J strain of the laboratory mouse Mus musculus. In contrast to theories that Y chromosomes are heterochromatic and gene poor, the mouse MSY is 99.9% euchromatic and contains about 700 protein-coding genes. Only 2% of the MSY derives from the ancestral autosomes that gave rise to the mammalian sex chromosomes. Instead, all but 45 of the MSY's genes belong to three acquired, massively amplified gene families that have no homologs on primate MSYs but do have acquired, amplified homologs on the mouse X chromosome. The complete mouse MSY sequence brings to light dramatic forces in sex chromosome evolution: lineage-specific convergent acquisition and amplification of X-Y gene families, possibly fueled by antagonism between acquired X-Y homologs. The mouse MSY sequence presents opportunities for experimental studies of a sex-specific chromosome in its entirety, in a genetically tractable model organism.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Y Q Shirleen
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alföldi
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Tatyana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pyntikova
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Laura G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Minx
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Fulton
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kremitzki
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koutseva
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rozen
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 4458 Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 4458 Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Womack
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 4458 Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: BACPAC Resources, Children's Hospital Oakland, 747 52nd Street, Oakland, CA 94609, USA.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: BACPAC Resources, Children's Hospital Oakland, 747 52nd Street, Oakland, CA 94609, USA.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Wesley C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Skaletsky
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: dcpage@wi.mit.edu.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Page
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002503:Centromere; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D033481:Chromosomes, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011323:Primates / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014960:X Chromosome; D014998:Y Chromosome