Department of Integrative Biology, Center for Theoretical Evolutionary Genomics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Nat Rev Genet. 2013 Feb;14(2):113-24. doi: 10.1038/nrg3366.
The human Y chromosome is intriguing not only because it harbours the master-switch gene that determines gender but also because of its unusual evolutionary history. The Y chromosome evolved from an autosome, and its evolution has been characterized by massive gene decay. Recent whole-genome and transcriptome analyses of Y chromosomes in humans and other primates, in Drosophila species and in plants have shed light on the current gene content of the Y chromosome, its origins and its long-term fate. Furthermore, comparative analysis of young and old Y chromosomes has given further insights into the evolutionary and molecular forces triggering Y-chromosome degeneration and into the evolutionary destiny of the Y chromosome.
人类的 Y 染色体不仅因其包含决定性别这一主开关的基因而令人着迷,还因其不同寻常的进化史而令人着迷。Y 染色体由一条常染色体进化而来,其进化的特点是大量基因缺失。最近对人类和其他灵长类动物、果蝇物种和植物的 Y 染色体的全基因组和转录组分析,揭示了 Y 染色体的当前基因组成、起源及其长期命运。此外,对新旧 Y 染色体的比较分析进一步深入了解了导致 Y 染色体退化的进化和分子力量,以及 Y 染色体的进化命运。