X chromosome inactivation in the Drosophila male germline
Final Report Abstract
This project investigated how gene expression from the X chromosome is regulated in different tissues of the model insect Drosophila melanogaster. Using genetic and genomic methods, we were able to demonstrate that expression of the X chromosome is suppressed in the male germline. This suppression does not occur in the female germline or in the somatic tissues of either sex. A mutagenesis screen uncovered two mutant strains that were defective in X-chromosomal suppression in the male germline and revealed candidate genes likely to play a role in this previously uncharacterized form of sex-, tissue-, and chromosome-specific gene expression regulation. Thus, these mutants represent an important tool for future research. We further were able to show that, in male somatic tissues, the distance between an X-linked gene and the nearest binding site of the dosage compensation complex was inversely correlated with the gene’s male-to-female expression ratio. This suggests that X-chromosome dosage compensation contributes to sex-biased gene expression. Gene expression in the brain appears to be particularly sensitive to X-chromosome location, which may explain the observed enrichment of X-linked, sex-biased genes in this tissue. Overall, this project advanced our knowledge of gene regulation and sex chromosome evolution.
Publications
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(2011) Fine-scale analysis of X chromosome inactivation in the male germline of Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Biol Evol. 28: 1561-1563
Kemkemer, C., W. Hense, and J. Parsch
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(2014) Escaping the X chromosome leads to increased gene expression in the male germline of Drosophila melanogaster. Heredity 112: 149-155
Kemkemer, C., A. Catalán, and J. Parsch
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(2014) Population- and sex-biased gene expression in the excretion organs of Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (Bethesda) 4: 2307-2315
Huylmans, A. K., and J. Parsch
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(2015) Variation in the X:autosome distribution of male-biased genes among Drosophila melanogaster tissues and its relationship with dosage compensation. Genome Biol. Evol. 7: 1960-1971
Huylmans, A. K., and J. Parsch
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(2016) An indel polymorphism in the MtnA 3' untranslated region is associated with gene expression variation and local adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS Genet. 12(4): e1005987
Catalán, A., A. Glaser-Schmitt, E. Argyridou, P. Duchen, and J. Parsch
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(2016) De novo transcriptome assembly and sex-biased gene expression in the cyclical parthenogenetic Daphnia galeata. Genome Biol. Evol. 8: 3120-3139
Huylmans, A. K., A. López Ezquerra, J. Parsch, and M. Cordellier
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(2016) Sex-biased gene expression. Annu. Rev. Genet. 50: 29-44
Grath S., and J. Parsch
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(2017) X-linkage is not a general inhibitor of tissue-specific gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster. Heredity 119: 27-34
Argyridou E., A. K. Huylmans, A. Königer, and J. Parsch
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(2018) Regulation of the X chromosome in the germline and soma of Drosophila melanogaster males. Genes (Basel) 9: 242
Argyridou E., and J. Parsch
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(2020) The influence of chromosomal environment on X-linked gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster. Genome Biol Evol. 12: 391-2402
Belyi, A., E. Argyridou, and J. Parsch
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(2020). Genomic analysis of European Drosophila melanogaster populationsreveals longitudinal structure, continentwide selection, and previously unknown DNA viruses. Mol. Biol. Evol. 37: 2661-2678
Kapun M, Barrón MG, Staubach F, Obbard DJ, Wiberg RAW, Vieira J, Goubert C, Rota-Stabelli O, Kankare M, Bogaerts-Márquez M, Haudry A, Waidele L, Kozeretska I, Pasyukova EG, Loeschcke V, Pascual M, Vieira CP, Serga S, Montchamp-Moreau C, Abbott J, Gibert P, Porcelli D, Posnien N, Sánchez-Gracia A, Grath S, Sucena É, Bergland AO, Guerreiro MPG, Onder BS, Argyridou E, Guio L, Schou MF, Deplancke B, Vieira C, Ritchie MG, Zwaan BJ, Tauber E, Orengo DJ, Puerma E, Aguadé M, Schmidt P, Parsch J, Betancourt AJ, Flatt T, González J
