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MBE Advance Access published online on May 30, 2003
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msg131
Molecular Biology and Evolution © Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2003; all rights reserved
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Accepted March 17, 2003
© 2003 Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution

Short Communication

Evidence That the Human X Chromosome Is Enriched for Male-Specific but Not Female-Specific Genes

Martin J. Lercher 1, Araxi O. Urrutia 1, Laurence D. Hurst 1*

1 Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: l.d.hurst{at}bath.ac.uk.


  Abstract

There is increasing evidence that X chromosomes have an unusual complement of genes, most especially as regards genes that have sex-specific expression. However, while in worm and fly the X chromosome has a dearth of male-specific genes, in mice genes that are uniquely expressed in spermatogonia are especially abundant on the X chromosome. Is this latter enrichment true for non-germline male specific genes in mammals and is it found also for female-specific genes? Here, using SAGE data, we show a) that tissue specific genes tend to be more abundant on the human X chromosome, b) that, controlling for this effect, genes expressed exclusively in prostate are enriched on the human X, while c) those expressed exclusively in mammary gland and ovary are not so enriched. This we propose is consistent with Rice's model of the evolution of sexually antagonistic alleles.

Key Words: X-chromosome, prostate, mammary gland, ovary, sexual antagonism, gene location


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