Abstract
The human Y chromosome consists of ampliconic genes, which are located in palindromes and undergo frequent gene conversion, and single-copy genes including the primary sex-determining locus, SRY. Here, we demonstrate that SRY is duplicated in a large palindrome in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Furthermore, we show through comparative sequencing that orthologous palindrome arms have diverged 0.40% between rabbit subspecies over at least 2 My, but paralogous palindrome arms have remained nearly identical. This provides clear evidence of gene conversion on the rabbit Y chromosome. Together with previous observations in humans, these results suggest that gene conversion is a general feature of the evolution of the mammalian Y chromosome.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2437-2440 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Molecular biology and evolution |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2010 |
Keywords
- Oryctolagus cuniculus
- SRY
- Y chromosome
- gene conversion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics