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Identification and phylogeny of five male‐specific lethal genes in the silkworm Bombyx mori
Author(s) -
LIU Wenbin,
ZHANG Yong,
MIAO Xuexia,
HUANG Yongping
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
entomological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1748-5967
pISSN - 1738-2297
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5967.2008.00174.x
Subject(s) - biology , bombyx mori , gene , drosophila melanogaster , dosage compensation , gene duplication , genetics , phylogenetics , phylogenetic tree , genome , bombyx , rna interference , rna , x chromosome
In the fruit fly ( Drosophila melanogaster ) dosage compensation equalization of X‐linked genes between the sexes is achieved via a complex that is termed the compensasome, which is composed of at least five male‐specific lethal ( msl ) genes and two non‐coding RNAs. In the present study, we cloned all five homologs (termed the msl s) from the silkworm, Bombyx mori , in which the issue of dosage compensation remains controversial. Data mining and robust phylogenetic analysis revealed that msl s are ubiquitously present in genomes, from insects to mammals, with unknown biological functions. However, the five genes seem to have evolved at different times due to gene duplication. Real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction experiments demonstrated that in the silkworm, some Z‐linked genes are expressed at higher levels in females than in males while others are expressed at lower levels in females than in males, which suggests that the msl genes in the silkworm and fruit fly may have different roles. We discussed the relationship of phylogeny between msl and sex‐lethal.