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Sun D, Maney DL, Layman TS, Chatterjee P, Yi SV. Regional epigenetic differentiation of the Z Chromosome between sexes in a female heterogametic system. Genome Res 2019; 29:1673-1684. [PMID: 31548356 PMCID: PMC6771406 DOI: 10.1101/gr.248641.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In male heterogametic systems, the X Chromosome is epigenetically differentiated between males and females, to facilitate dosage compensation. For example, the X Chromosome in female mammals is largely inactivated. Relative to well-studied male heterogametic systems, the extent of epigenetic differentiation between male and female Z Chromosomes in female heterogametic species, which often lack complete dosage compensation, is poorly understood. Here, we examined the chromosomal DNA methylation landscapes of male and female Z Chromosomes in two distantly related avian species, namely chicken and white-throated sparrow. We show that, in contrast to the pattern in mammals, male and female Z Chromosomes in these species exhibit highly similar patterns of DNA methylation, which is consistent with weak or absent dosage compensation. We further demonstrate that the epigenetic differences between male and female chicken Z Chromosomes are localized to a few regions, including a previously identified male hypermethylated region 1 (MHM1; CGNC: 80601). We discovered a novel region with elevated male-to-female methylation ratios on the chicken Z Chromosome (male hypermethylated region 2 [MHM2]; CGNC: 80602). The MHM1 and MHM2, despite little sequence similarity between them, bear similar molecular features that are likely associated with their functions. We present evidence consistent with female hypomethylation of MHMs and up-regulation of nearby genes. Therefore, despite little methylation differentiation between sexes, extremely localized DNA methylation differences between male and female chicken Z Chromosomes have evolved and affect expression of nearby regions. Our findings offer new insights into epigenetic regulation of gene expression between sexes in female heterogametic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Sun
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Thomas S Layman
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Paramita Chatterjee
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Soojin V Yi
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
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Trukhina AV, Lukina NA, Smirnov AF. Hormonal Sex Inversion and Some Aspects of Its Genetic Determination in Chicken. RUSS J GENET+ 2018. [DOI: 10.1134/s1022795418090144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Garcia-Moreno SA, Plebanek MP, Capel B. Epigenetic regulation of male fate commitment from an initially bipotential system. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2018; 468:19-30. [PMID: 29410272 PMCID: PMC6084468 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
A fundamental goal in biology is to understand how distinct cell types containing the same genetic information arise from a single stem cell throughout development. Sex determination is a key developmental process that requires a unidirectional commitment of an initially bipotential gonad towards either the male or female fate. This makes sex determination a unique model to study cell fate commitment and differentiation in vivo. We have focused this review on the accumulating evidence that epigenetic mechanisms contribute to the bipotential state of the fetal gonad and to the regulation of chromatin accessibility during and immediately downstream of the primary sex-determining switch that establishes the male fate.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Blanche Capel
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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4
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Ouchia-Benissad S, Ladjali-Mohammedi K. Banding cytogenetics of the Barbary partridge Alectoris barbara and the Chukar partridge Alectoris chukar (Phasianidae): a large conservation with Domestic fowl Gallus domesticus revealed by high resolution chromosomes. COMPARATIVE CYTOGENETICS 2018; 12:171-199. [PMID: 29896323 PMCID: PMC5995975 DOI: 10.3897/compcytogen.v12i2.23743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The development of avian cytogenetics is significantly behind that of mammals. In fact, since the advent of cytogenetic techniques, fewer than 1500 karyotypes have been established. The Barbary partridge Alectoris barbara Bonnaterre, 1790 is a bird of economic interest but its genome has not been studied so far. This species is endemic to North Africa and globally declining. The Chukar partridge Alectoris chukar Gray, 1830 is an introduced species which shares the same habitat area as the Barbary partridge and so there could be introgressive hybridisation. A cytogenetic study has been initiated in order to contribute to the Barbary partridge and the Chukar partridge genome analyses. The GTG, RBG and RHG-banded karyotypes of these species have been described. Primary fibroblast cell lines obtained from embryos were harvested after simple and double thymidine synchronisation. The first eight autosomal pairs and Z sex chromosome have been described at high resolution and compared to those of the domestic fowl Gallus domesticus Linnaeus, 1758. The diploid number was established as 2n = 78 for both partridges, as well as for most species belonging to the Galliformes order, underlying the stability of chromosome number in avian karyotypes. Wide homologies were observed for macrochromosomes and gonosome except for chromosome 4, 7, 8 and Z which present differences in morphology and/or banding pattern. Neocentromere occurrence was suggested for both partridges chromosome 4 with an assumed paracentric inversion in the Chukar partridge chromosome 4. Terminal inversion in the long arm of the Barbary partridge chromosome Z was also found. These rearrangements confirm that the avian karyotypes structure is conserved interchromosomally, but not at the intrachromosomal scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siham Ouchia-Benissad
- University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Faculty of Biological Sciences, LBCM lab., Team: Genetics of Development. USTHB, PO box 32 El-Alia, Bab-Ezzouar, 16110 Algiers, Algeria
| | - Kafia Ladjali-Mohammedi
- University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Faculty of Biological Sciences, LBCM lab., Team: Genetics of Development. USTHB, PO box 32 El-Alia, Bab-Ezzouar, 16110 Algiers, Algeria
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Waters SA, Livernois AM, Patel H, O’Meally D, Craig JM, Marshall Graves JA, Suter CM, Waters PD. Landscape of DNA Methylation on the Marsupial X. Mol Biol Evol 2017; 35:431-439. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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Abstract
Differentiated sex chromosomes in mammals and other vertebrates evolved independently but in strikingly similar ways. Vertebrates with differentiated sex chromosomes share the problems of the unequal expression of the genes borne on sex chromosomes, both between the sexes and with respect to autosomes. Dosage compensation of genes on sex chromosomes is surprisingly variable - and can even be absent - in different vertebrate groups. Systems that compensate for different gene dosages include a wide range of global, regional and gene-by-gene processes that differ in their extent and their molecular mechanisms. However, many elements of these control systems are similar across distant phylogenetic divisions and show parallels to other gene silencing systems. These dosage systems cannot be identical by descent but were probably constructed from elements of ancient silencing mechanisms that are ubiquitous among vertebrates and shared throughout eukaryotes.
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Conservation of Regional Variation in Sex-Specific Sex Chromosome Regulation. Genetics 2015; 201:587-98. [PMID: 26245831 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.115.179234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Regional variation in sex-specific gene regulation has been observed across sex chromosomes in a range of animals and is often a function of sex chromosome age. The avian Z chromosome exhibits substantial regional variation in sex-specific regulation, where older regions show elevated levels of male-biased expression. Distinct sex-specific regulation also has been observed across the male hypermethylated (MHM) region, which has been suggested to be a region of nascent dosage compensation. Intriguingly, MHM region regulatory features have not been observed in distantly related avian species despite the hypothesis that it is situated within the oldest region of the avian Z chromosome and is therefore orthologous across most birds. This situation contrasts with the conservation of other aspects of regional variation in gene expression observed on the avian sex chromosomes but could be the result of sampling bias. We sampled taxa across the Galloanserae, an avian clade spanning 90 million years, to test whether regional variation in sex-specific gene regulation across the Z chromosome is conserved. We show that the MHM region is conserved across a large portion of the avian phylogeny, together with other sex-specific regulatory features of the avian Z chromosome. Our results from multiple lines of evidence suggest that the sex-specific expression pattern of the MHM region is not consistent with nascent dosage compensation.
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Trukhina AV, Lukina NA, Nekrasova AA, Smirnov AF. Sex inversion and epigenetic regulation in vertebrates. RUSS J GENET+ 2015. [DOI: 10.1134/s1022795415020155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Clayton DF, London SE. Advancing avian behavioral neuroendocrinology through genomics. Front Neuroendocrinol 2014; 35:58-71. [PMID: 24113222 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2013.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2013] [Revised: 09/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/18/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Genome technologies are transforming all areas of biology, including the study of hormones, brain and behavior. Annotated reference genome assemblies are rapidly being produced for many avian species. Here we briefly review the basic concepts and tools used in genomics. We then consider how these are informing the study of avian behavioral neuroendocrinology, focusing in particular on lessons from the study of songbirds. We discuss the impact of having a complete "parts list" for an organism; the transformational potential of studying large sets of genes at once instead one gene at a time; the growing recognition that environmental and behavioral signals trigger massive shifts in gene expression in the brain; and the prospects for using comparative genomics to uncover the genetic roots of behavioral variation. Throughout, we identify promising new directions for bolstering the application of genomic information to further advance the study of avian brain and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F Clayton
- Biological & Experimental Psychology Division, School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
| | - Sarah E London
- Department of Psychology, Institute for Mind and Biology, Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, 940 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Jang HJ, Seo HW, Lee BR, Yoo M, Womack JE, Han JY. Gene expression and DNA methylation status of chicken primordial germ cells. Mol Biotechnol 2013; 54:177-86. [PMID: 22678927 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-012-9560-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation reprogramming of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in mammals establishes monoallelic expression of imprinting genes, maintains retrotransposons in an inactive state, inactivates one of the two X chromosomes, and suppresses gene expression. However, the roles of DNA methylation in chickens PGCs are unknown. In this study, we found a 1.5-fold or greater difference in the expression of 261 transcripts when comparing PGCs and chicken embryonic fibroblasts (CEFs) using an Affymetrix GeneChip Chicken Genome Array. In addition, we analyzed the methylation patterns of the regions ~5-kb upstream of 261 sorted genes, 51 of which were imprinting homologous loci and 49 of which were X-linked homologous loci in chicken using the MeDIP Array by Roche NimbleGen. Seven hypomethylated and five hypermethylated regions within the 5-kb upstream regions of 261 genes were found in PGCs when compared with CEFs. These differentially methylated regions were restrictively matched to differentially expressed genes in PGCs. We also detected 203 differentially methylated regions within imprinting and X-linked homologous regions between male PGCs and female PGCs. These differentially methylated regions may be directly or indirectly associated with gene expression during early embryonic development, and the epigenetic difference could be evolutionally conserved between mammals and birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Jun Jang
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
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Livernois AM, Waters SA, Deakin JE, Marshall Graves JA, Waters PD. Independent evolution of transcriptional inactivation on sex chromosomes in birds and mammals. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003635. [PMID: 23874231 PMCID: PMC3715422 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/30/2013] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
X chromosome inactivation in eutherian mammals has been thought to be tightly controlled, as expected from a mechanism that compensates for the different dosage of X-borne genes in XX females and XY males. However, many X genes escape inactivation in humans, inactivation of the X in marsupials is partial, and the unrelated sex chromosomes of monotreme mammals have incomplete and gene-specific inactivation of X-linked genes. The bird ZW sex chromosome system represents a third independently evolved amniote sex chromosome system with dosage compensation, albeit partial and gene-specific, via an unknown mechanism (i.e. upregulation of the single Z in females, down regulation of one or both Zs in males, or a combination). We used RNA-fluorescent in situ hybridization (RNA-FISH) to demonstrate, on individual fibroblast cells, inactivation of 11 genes on the chicken Z and 28 genes on the X chromosomes of platypus. Each gene displayed a reproducible frequency of 1Z/1X-active and 2Z/2X-active cells in the homogametic sex. Our results indicate that the probability of inactivation is controlled on a gene-by-gene basis (or small domains) on the chicken Z and platypus X chromosomes. This regulatory mechanism must have been exapted independently to the non-homologous sex chromosomes in birds and mammals in response to an over-expressed Z or X in the homogametic sex, highlighting the universal importance that (at least partial) silencing plays in the evolution on amniote dosage compensation and, therefore, the differentiation of sex chromosomes. Dosage compensation is a mechanism that restores the expression of X chromosome genes back to their original level when Y homologues lose function. In placental and marsupial mammals this is achieved by upregulating the single X in males. The carry-through of overexpression to females would result in functional tetraploidy, so there is subsequent inactivation of one X chromosome in the somatic cells of females, leaving males (XY) and females (XX) with a single upregulated X. In contrast, genes on the five platypus (a monotreme mammal) X chromosomes and the chicken Z chromosome (which are orthologous but independently evolved) are expressed globally at a higher level in female platypus and male chicken respectively, indicating partial dosage compensation. Here, for the first time, we provide evidence for inactivation of genes on the chicken Z chromosome in ZZ males, and on all five Xs in female platypus. Our results suggest that the silencing of genes on sex chromosomes has evolved independently in birds and mammals, and is, therefore, a critical step in the pathway to dosage compensate independently evolved amniote sex chromosomes systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M. Livernois
- Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- * E-mail: (AML); (PDW)
| | - Shafagh A. Waters
- School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Janine E. Deakin
- Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Jennifer A. Marshall Graves
- Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- La Trobe Institute of Molecular Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Paul D. Waters
- School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail: (AML); (PDW)
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RNA sequencing reveals sexually dimorphic gene expression before gonadal differentiation in chicken and allows comprehensive annotation of the W-chromosome. Genome Biol 2013; 14:R26. [PMID: 23531366 PMCID: PMC4053838 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-3-r26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2012] [Accepted: 03/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Birds have a ZZ male: ZW female sex chromosome system and while the Z-linked DMRT1 gene is necessary for testis development, the exact mechanism of sex determination in birds remains unsolved. This is partly due to the poor annotation of the W chromosome, which is speculated to carry a female determinant. Few genes have been mapped to the W and little is known of their expression. Results We used RNA-seq to produce a comprehensive profile of gene expression in chicken blastoderms and embryonic gonads prior to sexual differentiation. We found robust sexually dimorphic gene expression in both tissues pre-dating gonadogenesis, including sex-linked and autosomal genes. This supports the hypothesis that sexual differentiation at the molecular level is at least partly cell autonomous in birds. Different sets of genes were sexually dimorphic in the two tissues, indicating that molecular sexual differentiation is tissue specific. Further analyses allowed the assembly of full-length transcripts for 26 W chromosome genes, providing a view of the W transcriptome in embryonic tissues. This is the first extensive analysis of W-linked genes and their expression profiles in early avian embryos. Conclusion Sexual differentiation at the molecular level is established in chicken early in embryogenesis, before gonadal sex differentiation. We find that the W chromosome is more transcriptionally active than previously thought, expand the number of known genes to 26 and present complete coding sequences for these W genes. This includes two novel W-linked sequences and three small RNAs reassigned to the W from the Un_Random chromosome.
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Centromere positions in chicken and Japanese quail chromosomes: de novo centromere formation versus pericentric inversions. Chromosome Res 2012; 20:1017-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s10577-012-9319-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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The long non-coding RNA, MHM, plays a role in chicken embryonic development, including gonadogenesis. Dev Biol 2012; 366:317-26. [PMID: 22546690 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2012.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2011] [Revised: 03/01/2012] [Accepted: 03/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
MHM is a chicken Z chromosome-linked locus that is methylated and transcriptionally silent in male cells, but is hypomethylated and transcribed into a long non-coding RNA in female cells. MHM has been implicated in both localised dosage compensation and sex determination in the chicken embryo, but direct evidence is lacking. We investigated the potential role of MHM in chicken embryonic development, using expression analysis and retroviral-mediated mis-expression. At embryonic stages, MHM is only expressed in females. Northern blotting showed that both sense and antisense strands of the MHM locus are transcribed, with the sense strand being more abundant. Whole mount in situ hybridization confirmed that the sense RNA is present in developing female embryos, notably in gonads, limbs, heart, branchial arch and brain. Within these cells, the MHM RNA is localized to the nucleus. The antisense transcript is lowly expressed and has a cytoplasmic localization in cells. Mis-expression of MHM sense and antisense sequences results in overgrowth of tissues in which transcripts are predominantly expressed. This includes altered asymmetric ovarian development in females. In males, MHM mis-expression impairs gonadal expression of the testis gene, DMRT1. Both MHM sense and antisense mis-expression cause brain abnormalities, while MHM sense causes an increase in male-biased embryo mortality. These results indicate that MHM has a role in chicken normal embryonic development, including gonadal sex differentiation.
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