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Possible differences in the two Z chromosomes in male chickens and evolution of MHM sequences in Galliformes

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Abstract

The male hypermethylated (MHM) region of the chicken Z chromosome encodes a non-coding RNA that is expressed only in females. The MHM sequence is found only in galliform birds, and Z genes near this region show an unusual degree of dosage compensation between males and females despite the overall low level of dosage compensation in Z chromosome gene expression in birds. Here we report that the MHM locus shows a dramatic sex difference in the configuration of chromatin, open in females and condensed in males, based on DNA fluorescent in situ hybridization of an MHM probe in interphase nuclei. The demethylating agent 5-aza-cytidine causes an asymmetric effect on the two Z chromosomes of males, altering the chromatin configuration, MHM RNA expression, and H4K16Ac modification, suggesting an inequality in the methylation status and chromatin of the two Z chromosomes. We identified numerous MHM-related genomic and RNA sequences that possess a short conserved sequence common to the majority of clones, suggesting the functional importance of the MHM region. Some of the RNA sequences, which like MHM are expressed in females but not in males, are likely to be polyadenylated and have genomic intron/exon structure. The turkey, another galliform bird, has repetitive sequences in the predicted turkey MHM region, raising the question of regional dosage compensation in the turkey as in the chicken.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH grant DC000217 to A.P. Arnold and a Yamada Science Foundation grant to Y. Itoh. We thank Dr. Mika Teranishi for sharing the DNA clones and Dr. Michael Grunstein for the gift of H4K16Ac antibody.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California—Los Angeles, 610 Charles E. Young Drive South, Room 1146, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, USA

    Yuichiro Itoh, Kathy Kampf & Arthur P. Arnold

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  1. Yuichiro Itoh
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  2. Kathy Kampf
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  3. Arthur P. Arnold
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Correspondence to Yuichiro Itoh.

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Communicated by L. Comai

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Fig. S1

Several examples of “open” and “closed” signals in FISH using MHM BAC DNA as a probe. A–C are male (ZZ) nuclei, and signals are “closed”. In females (D–F), there is a cluster of three or more spots, which we defined as “open” (JPEG 3622 kb)

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Itoh, Y., Kampf, K. & Arnold, A.P. Possible differences in the two Z chromosomes in male chickens and evolution of MHM sequences in Galliformes. Chromosoma 120, 587–598 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-011-0333-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-011-0333-x

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