title: An overview of X inactivation based on species differences.
abstract: X inactivation, a developmental process that takes place in early stages of mammalian embryogenesis, balances the sex difference in dosage of X-linked genes. Although all mammals use this form of dosage compensation, the details differ from one species to another because of variations in the staging of embryogenesis and evolutionary tinkering with the DNA blueprint for development. Such differences provide a broader view of the process than that afforded by a single species. My overview of X inactivation is based on these species variations.
authors.affiliation: McKusick Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University, 413 Miller Research Building, 733 N Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States. Electronic address: bmigeon@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Barbara R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Migeon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D049951:X Chromosome Inactivation / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin
keywords: CpG methylation and escape genes; Dosage compensation; Evolutionary tinkering; Long non-coding RNA; Paternal imprints