Friday, 23 September 2016

How X chromosome is inactivated in female mammals?

One of the X chromosomes is completely and permanently inactivated during a female's early development in the womb. Research into mice has shown that a ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule called Xist plays a pivotal role in the process. Several hundred copies of this molecule attach themselves to one of the two X chromosomes, these RNA molecules dock onto other molecules which then inactivate the chromosome.  Spen gene is very important for X chromosome inactivation.

Ref: Asun Monfort et al., 2015, Cell Reports. 
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.06.067

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