Choosing the Active X: The Human Version of X Inactivation.

Choosing the Active X: The Human Version of X Inactivation.
Trends Genet. 2017 Oct 05;:
Authors: Migeon BR
Abstract
Humans and rodents differ in how they carry out X inactivation (XI), the mammalian method to compensate for the different number of X chromosomes in males and females. Evolutionary changes in staging embryogenesis and in mutations within the XI center alter the process among mammals. The mouse model of XI is predicated on X counting and subsequently choosing the X to 'inactivate'. However, new evidence suggests that humans initiate XI by protecting one X in both sexes from inactivation by XIST, the noncoding RNA that silences the inactive X. This opinion article explores the question of how the inactive X is protected from silencing by its own Xist locus, and the possibility of different solutions for mouse and human.
PMID: 28988701 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Trends in Genetics : TIG - October 5, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Migeon BR Tags: Trends Genet Source Type: research