Evidence of Xist RNA-independent initiation of mouse imprinted X-chromosome inactivation

Sundeep Kalantry, Sonya Purushothaman, Randall Bryant Bowen, Joshua Starmer and Terry Magnuson ()
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Sundeep Kalantry: Department of Genetics,
Sonya Purushothaman: Department of Genetics,
Randall Bryant Bowen: Department of Genetics,
Joshua Starmer: Department of Genetics,
Terry Magnuson: Department of Genetics,

Nature, 2009, vol. 460, issue 7255, 647-651

Abstract: X-chromosome inactivation Female mammals carry two copies of the X chromosome, compared to the one X and one Y of the male, and to counter the potentially toxic effect of a double-dose of a gene, most of the genes on one X chromosome are silenced. This process of X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) has long been assumed to be triggered by the expression of the RNA gene Xist, specifically the copy on the inactive X chromosome. New work on embryos of mice engineered to contain a defective Xist gene on their future inactive X chromosome reveals a more complicated picture. In fact, silencing of the paternal X chromosome during imprinted XCI can be initiated in the absence of paternal Xist. In the continued absence of Xist the X chromosome eventually reactivates, suggesting that its role may be to stabilize silencing over the long term.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08161

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