Journal
CURRENT BIOLOGY
Volume 11, Issue 4, Pages 253-257Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/S0960-9822(01)00070-7
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The Z and W sex chromosomes of birds have evolved independently from the mammalian X and Y chromosomes [1], Unlike mammals, female birds are heterogametic (ZW), while males are homogametic (U), Therefore male birds, like female mammals, carry a double dose of sex-linked genes relative to the other sex. Other animals with nonhomologous sex chromosomes possess dosage compensation systems to equalize the expression of sex-linked genes. Dosage compensation occurs in animals as diverse as mammals, insects, and nematodes, although the mechanisms involved differ profoundly [2], In birds, however, it is widely accepted that dosage compensation does not occur [3-5], and the differential expression of Z-linked genes has been suggested to underlie the avian sex-determination mechanism [6], Here we show equivalent expression of at least six of nine Z chromosome genes in male and female chick embryos by using real-time quantitative PCR [7], Only the Z-linked Sell gene, whose ortholog in Caenorhabditis elegans plays a crucial role in dosage compensation [8], escapes compensation by this assay. Our results imply that the majority of Z-linked genes in the chicken are dosage compensated.
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