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Paria N, Raudsepp T, Pearks Wilkerson AJ, O'Brien PCM, Ferguson-Smith MA, Love CC, Arnold C, Rakestraw P, Murphy WJ, Chowdhary BP. A gene catalogue of the euchromatic male-specific region of the horse Y chromosome: comparison with human and other mammals. PLoS One 2011; 6:e21374. [PMID: 21799735 PMCID: PMC3143126 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2011] [Accepted: 05/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of the Y chromosome in primates, rodents and carnivores provide compelling evidence that the male specific region of Y (MSY) contains functional genes, many of which have specialized roles in spermatogenesis and male-fertility. Little similarity, however, has been found between the gene content and sequence of MSY in different species. This hinders the discovery of species-specific male fertility genes and limits our understanding about MSY evolution in mammals. Here, a detailed MSY gene catalogue was developed for the horse – an odd-toed ungulate. Using direct cDNA selection from horse testis, and sequence analysis of Y-specific BAC clones, 37 horse MSY genes/transcripts were identified. The genes were mapped to the MSY BAC contig map, characterized for copy number, analyzed for transcriptional profiles by RT-PCR, examined for the presence of ORFs, and compared to other mammalian orthologs. We demonstrate that the horse MSY harbors 20 X-degenerate genes with known orthologs in other eutherian species. The remaining 17 genes are acquired or novel and have so far been identified only in the horse or donkey Y chromosomes. Notably, 3 transcripts were found in the heterochromatic part of the Y. We show that despite substantial differences between the sequence, gene content and organization of horse and other mammalian Y chromosomes, the functions of MSY genes are predominantly related to testis and spermatogenesis. Altogether, 10 multicopy genes with testis-specific expression were identified in the horse MSY, and considered likely candidate genes for stallion fertility. The findings establish an important foundation for the study of Y-linked genetic factors governing fertility in stallions, and improve our knowledge about the evolutionary processes that have shaped Y chromosomes in different mammalian lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandina Paria
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Terje Raudsepp
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BPC); (TR)
| | - Alison J. Pearks Wilkerson
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | | | | | - Charles C. Love
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Carolyn Arnold
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Peter Rakestraw
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - William J. Murphy
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Bhanu P. Chowdhary
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BPC); (TR)
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