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The pig X and Y Chromosomes: structure, sequence, and evolution.


Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Skinner, Benjamin M 
Sargent, Carole A 
Churcher, Carol 
Hunt, Toby 
Herrero, Javier 

Abstract

We have generated an improved assembly and gene annotation of the pig X Chromosome, and a first draft assembly of the pig Y Chromosome, by sequencing BAC and fosmid clones from Duroc animals and incorporating information from optical mapping and fiber-FISH. The X Chromosome carries 1033 annotated genes, 690 of which are protein coding. Gene order closely matches that found in primates (including humans) and carnivores (including cats and dogs), which is inferred to be ancestral. Nevertheless, several protein-coding genes present on the human X Chromosome were absent from the pig, and 38 pig-specific X-chromosomal genes were annotated, 22 of which were olfactory receptors. The pig Y-specific Chromosome sequence generated here comprises 30 megabases (Mb). A 15-Mb subset of this sequence was assembled, revealing two clusters of male-specific low copy number genes, separated by an ampliconic region including the HSFY gene family, which together make up most of the short arm. Both clusters contain palindromes with high sequence identity, presumably maintained by gene conversion. Many of the ancestral X-related genes previously reported in at least one mammalian Y Chromosome are represented either as active genes or partial sequences. This sequencing project has allowed us to identify genes--both single copy and amplified--on the pig Y Chromosome, to compare the pig X and Y Chromosomes for homologous sequences, and thereby to reveal mechanisms underlying pig X and Y Chromosome evolution.

Description

Keywords

Animals, Base Sequence, Cats, Chromosomes, Mammalian, Dogs, Evolution, Molecular, Female, Gene Conversion, Gene Expression, Gene Library, Gene Order, Humans, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Sequence Alignment, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Swine, X Chromosome, Y Chromosome

Journal Title

Genome Res

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1088-9051
1549-5469

Volume Title

Publisher

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/F021372/1)
This work was funded by BBSRC grant BB/F021372/1. The Flow Cytometry and Cytogenetics Core Facilities at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Sanger investigators are funded by the Wellcome Trust (grant number WT098051). K.B., D.C.-S., and J.H. acknowledge support from the Wellcome Trust (WT095908), the BBSRC (BB/I025506/1), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 222664 (“Quantomics”).