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Evolution of sex chromosomes: dosage compensation of the Lcp1–4 gene cluster on the evolving neo‐X chromosome in Drosophila miranda
Author(s) -
Steinemann S.,
Steinemann M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2583.2006.00711.x
Subject(s) - dosage compensation , biology , autosome , x chromosome , genetics , gene , drosophila (subgenus) , drosophila pseudoobscura , chromosome , gene cluster , gene dosage , recombination , y chromosome , evolutionary biology , gene expression
In Drosophila miranda the small multigene family of the larval cuticle protein ( Lcp1–4 ) genes resides on the evolving neo‐X and neo‐Y sex chromosome pair while in the sibling species Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila persimilis the gene cluster is inherited autosomally. The neo‐Y chromosomal Lcp1 , Lcp2 and Lcp4 genes are, as previously shown by us, not expressed and only Lcp3 is expressed at a strongly reduced level. As a first step in understanding the evolutionary mechanism(s) transforming an autosome into a dosage compensated X we analysed the expression behaviour and promoter structure of the Lcp1–4 genes on the neo‐X. The normalized relative expression levels reveal that all four neo‐X chromosomal Lcp genes in D. miranda males, including Lcp3 , are already dosage compensated.