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. 1990 Jun;125(2):399–406. doi: 10.1093/genetics/125.2.399

An Unusual Y Chromosome of Drosophila Simulans Carrying Amplified Rdna Spacer without Rrna Genes

A R Lohe 1, P A Roberts 1
PMCID: PMC1204028  PMID: 2379820

Abstract

The X and Y chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster each contain a cluster of several hundred ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA). A nontranscribed spacer region separates adjacent rRNA genes and contains tandem copies of 240 bp repeats that include the initiation site for RNA polymerase I transcription. We show here that Drosophila simulans, a sibling species of D. melanogaster, contains few, if any, rRNA genes on its Y chromosome but carries instead a large block (3,000 kb or 12,500 copies) of 240 bp nontranscribed spacer repeats. The repeats are located at the tip of the long arm of the simulans Y chromosome, in contrast to their location among rRNA genes on the short arm of the Y chromosome of D. melanogaster. The bobbed mutation in homozygous females of D. melanogaster shortens and thins the bristles, owing to a partial deletion of rRNA genes on the X chromosome. The bristles of bobbed/Y males are normal owing to the presence of a full complement of rRNA genes on the Y chromosome. Peculiarly, in bobbed/Y males of D. simulans the short bristle phenotype does not return to normal but is enhanced by the presence of the Y chromosome. We propose that the 12,500 nontranscribed spacer repeats on the Y chromosome are responsible for this biological effect by competition for a protein factor(s) essential for normal levels of rDNA transcription at the X-linked locus.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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