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Development pp 407–419Cite as

X-Chromosome Inactivation

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Abstract

We have known for the greater part of the 20th century that mammalian females and males differ in both number and kind of sex chromosomes. While females have two X-chromosomes (XX), males have one X- and one Y-chromosome (XY). Both the X and Y carry genes that enhance female and male reproductive function, respectively. Because the Y-chromosome is relatively small and carries only a few genes, this sex chromosome difference means that females essentially have double the number of sex-chromosome genes compared to males. Yet, biochemical evidence indicates that this difference in chromosome number does not result in sex-specific differences in the total amount of X-encoded RNAs or proteins. In other words, female cells with two copies of every X-linked gene synthesized the same amount of protein products as males cells with half the number of genes. For years, this equation puzzled biologists. Clearly, some form of dosage compensation akin to those found in other sexual organisms must exist in mammals.

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Authors
  1. Jeannie T. Lee
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. MPI für Molekulare Genetik, Ihnestraße 73, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Vincenzo E. A. Russo

  2. Leeds Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Agriculture, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS29JT, Great Britain

    David J. Cove

  3. Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 80302, CO, USA

    Lois G. Edgar

  4. Whitehead Institute, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, 02141, MA, USA

    Rudolf Jaenisch

  5. MPI für Züchtungsforschung, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Köln, D-50829, Germany

    Francesco Salamini

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin · Heidelberg New York

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Lee, J.T. (1999). X-Chromosome Inactivation. In: Russo, V.E.A., Cove, D.J., Edgar, L.G., Jaenisch, R., Salamini, F. (eds) Development. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59828-9_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59828-9_25

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64141-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59828-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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