Jobling Mark A, Tyler-Smith Chris
Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
Nat Rev Genet. 2003 Aug;4(8):598-612. doi: 10.1038/nrg1124.
Until recently, the Y chromosome seemed to fulfil the role of juvenile delinquent among human chromosomes--rich in junk, poor in useful attributes, reluctant to socialize with its neighbours and with an inescapable tendency to degenerate. The availability of the near-complete chromosome sequence, plus many new polymorphisms, a highly resolved phylogeny and insights into its mutation processes, now provide new avenues for investigating human evolution. Y-chromosome research is growing up.
直到最近，Y染色体在人类染色体中似乎还扮演着少年犯的角色——富含无用的基因片段，有用的特性很少，不愿与相邻染色体“交流”，并且不可避免地有退化的趋势。近乎完整的染色体序列、众多新的多态性、高度解析的系统发育以及对其突变过程的深入了解，现在为研究人类进化提供了新途径。Y染色体研究正在走向成熟。
