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.; Hense, W. & Parsch, J.
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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.; Catalán, A. & Parsch, J.
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(2014) Population- and sex-biased gene expression in the excretion organs of Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (Bethesda) 4: 2307-2315
Huylmans, Ann Kathrin & Parsch, John
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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, Ann Kathrin & Parsch, John
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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, Ana; Glaser-Schmitt, Amanda; Argyridou, Eliza; Duchen, Pablo & Parsch, John
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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, Ann Kathrin; López Ezquerra, Alberto; Parsch, John & Cordellier, Mathilde
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(2016) Sex-biased gene expression. Annu. Rev. Genet. 50: 29-44
Grath, Sonja & Parsch, John
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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.; Huylmans, A. K.; Königer, A. & Parsch, J.
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(2018) Regulation of the X chromosome in the germline and soma of Drosophila melanogaster males. Genes (Basel) 9: 242
Argyridou, Eliza & Parsch, John
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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, Aleksei; Argyridou, Eliza & Parsch, John
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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, Martin; Barrón, Maite G; Staubach, Fabian; Obbard, Darren J; Wiberg, R Axel W; Vieira, Jorge; Goubert, Clément; Rota-Stabelli, Omar; Kankare, Maaria; Bogaerts-Márquez, María; Haudry, Annabelle; Waidele, Lena; Kozeretska, Iryna; Pasyukova, Elena G; Loeschcke, Volker; Pascual, Marta; Vieira, Cristina P; Serga, Svitlana; Montchamp-Moreau, Catherine; ... & González, Josefa
