title: Dosage Compensation in Drosophila-a Model for the Coordinate Regulation of Transcription.
abstract: The sex chromosomes have special significance in the history of genetics. The chromosomal basis of inheritance was firmly established when Calvin Bridges demonstrated that exceptions to Mendel's laws of segregation were accompanied at the cytological level by exceptional sex chromosome segregation. The morphological differences between X and Y exploited in Bridges' experiments arose as a consequence of the evolution of the sex chromosomes. Originally a homologous chromosome pair, the degeneration of the Y chromosome has been accompanied by a requirement for increased expression of the single X chromosome in males. Drosophila has been a model for the study of this dosage compensation and has brought key strengths, including classical genetics, the exceptional cytology of polytene chromosomes, and more recently, comprehensive genomics. The impact of these studies goes beyond sex chromosome regulation, providing valuable insights into mechanisms for the establishment and maintenance of chromatin domains, and for the coordinate regulation of transcription.
authors.affiliation: Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 mkuroda@genetics.med.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Mitzi I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, D-30625 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilfiker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, O. Wayne Rollins Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lucchesi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008297:Male; D059007:Polytene Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins
keywords: Drosophila; FlyBook; X chromosome; dosage dependence; genetic screens; male-specific lethal