Abstract
THE mammalian subclass Theria consists of infraclasses Meta-theria (marsupials) and Eutheria ('placentals') which diverged from each other 120–150 million years before present1 (Myr BP). Both infraclasses have Y chromosome-dependent testis determination but direct molecular evidence linking the Metatherian and Eutherian Y chromosomes is lacking. Comparative analyses indicate that three mammalian genes have remained Y-linked for at least 80 Myr, since the divergence of the Eutherian orders from a common ancestor. These are Zfy, a gene encoding a transcription factor of the zinc-finger type2; Sry, the putative primary testis-determining gene3; and Ubely (formerly Sby or Als9Y-l), a candidate for the mouse spermatogenesis gene Spy, encoding a ubiquitin-activating enzyme El homologue4,5. Although in mar-spials Zfy homologues are autosomal6, a Y homologue of Sry has recently been isolated7. We report here the identification of a functional marsupial Y-linked homologue of the murine Ube1y gene establishing that Metatherian and Eutherian Y chromosomes diverged from a common ancestor. This extreme conservation indicates that Ube1y plays a critical role in male development.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hope, R. M., Cooper, S. & Wainwright, B. in Mammals from Pouches and Eggs: Genetics, Breeding and Evolution of Marsupials and Monotremes (eds Graves, J. A. M., Hope, R. M. & Cooper, D. W.) 147–172 (CSIRO, Melbourne, 1990).
Page, D.C. et al. Cell 51, 1091–1104 (1987).
Sinclair, A. H. et al. Nature 346, 240–244 (1990).
Mitchell, M. J., Woods, D. R., Tucker, P. K., Opp, J. S. & Bishop, C. E. Nature 354, 483–486 (1991).
Kay, G. F. et al. Nature 354, 486–489 (1991).
Sinclair, A. H. et al. Nature 336, 780–783 (1988).
Foster, J. W. et al. Nature 359, 531–533 (1992).
Fisher, E. M. C. et al. Cell 63, 1205–1218 (1990).
Ashworth, A., Rastan, S., Lovell-Badge, R. & Kay, G. Nature 351, 406–408 (1991).
Brown, C. J. & Willard, H. F. Am. J. hum. Genet. 45, 592–598 (1989).
Schneider-Gadicke, A., Beer-Romero, P., Brown, L. G., Nussbaum, R. & Page, D. C. Cell 57, 1247–1258 (1989).
Hamvas, R. M. J. et al. Genomics 12, 363–367 (1992).
Spencer, J. A., Watson, J. M. & Graves, J. A. M. Genomics 9, 598–604 (1991).
Spencer, J. A., Sinclair, A. H., Watson, J. M. & Graves, J. A. M. Genomics 11, 339–345 (1991).
Watson, J. M., Spencer, J. A., Riggs, A. D. & Graves, J. A. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 11256–11260 (1991).
Zacksenhaus, E., Sheinin, R. & Wang, H. S. Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 53, 20–22 (1990).
Sutcliffe, M. J. & Burgoyne, P. S. Development 107, 373–380 (1989).
Feinberg, A. P. & Vogelstein, B. Analyt. Blochem. 132, 6–13 (1983).
Ewens, W. J., Griffiths, R. C., Ethier, S. N., Wilcox, S. A. & Graves, J. A. M. Genomics 12, 675–682 (1992).
Sinclair, A. H., Wrigley, J. M. & Graves, J. A. M. Genet. Res. 50, 131–136 (1987).
Mitchell, M. J. & Bishop, C. E. Genomics 12, 26–34 (1992).
Devereux, J., Haeberli, P. & Smithies, O. Nucleic Acids Res. 12, 387–395 (1984).
Watson, J. M., Spencer, J. A., Riggs, A. D. & Graves, J. A. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 7125–7129 (1990).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mitchell, M., Woods, D., Wilcox, S. et al. Marsupial Y chromosome encodes a homologue of the mouse Y-linked candidate spermatogenesis gene Ube1y. Nature 359, 528–531 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/359528a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/359528a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
A cross-species comparison of escape from X inactivation in Eutheria: implications for evolution of X chromosome inactivation
Chromosoma (2012)
-
Specific patterns of histone marks accompany X chromosome inactivation in a marsupial
Chromosome Research (2009)
-
Molecular characterization and evolution of X and Y-borne ATRX homologues in American marsupials
Chromosome Research (2004)
-
Molecular analysis of an isoYq Chromosome in a sterile male mouse
Mammalian Genome (1996)
-
Estimating the intensity of male-driven evolution in rodents by using X-linked and Y-linked Ube 1 genes and pseudogenes
Journal of Molecular Evolution (1995)