Keskeiset käsitteet
Ape sex chromosomes exhibit dynamic evolution, with the Y chromosome showing greater variation in size, structure, and gene content compared to the more stable X chromosome.
Tiivistelmä
The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the sex chromosomes of five great ape species (bonobo, chimpanzee, western lowland gorilla, Bornean orangutan, and Sumatran orangutan) and one lesser ape species (siamang gibbon). Using the telomere-to-telomere (T2T) methodology, the researchers were able to produce gapless assemblies of the X and Y chromosomes for these species, allowing them to unravel the intricacies of sex chromosome evolution in apes.
The key findings are:
Compared to the X chromosomes, the ape Y chromosomes exhibit greater variation in size and have lower alignability and higher levels of structural rearrangements, due to the accumulation of lineage-specific ampliconic regions, palindromes, transposable elements, and satellites.
Many Y chromosome genes expand into multi-copy families, and some evolve under purifying selection, indicating dynamic evolution of the Y chromosome.
In contrast, the X chromosome is more stable across ape species.
Mapping short-read sequencing data to the new reference assemblies revealed patterns of diversity and selection on the sex chromosomes of more than 100 individual great apes.
The authors emphasize that these high-quality reference assemblies will inform studies on human evolution and the conservation genetics of endangered non-human ape species.
Tilastot
The Y chromosome exhibits greater variation in size among ape species compared to the X chromosome.
The ape Y chromosomes have lower alignability and higher levels of structural rearrangements compared to the X chromosomes.
Many Y chromosome genes expand into multi-copy families, and some evolve under purifying selection.
Lainaukset
"Compared with the X chromosomes, the ape Y chromosomes vary greatly in size and have low alignability and high levels of structural rearrangements—owing to the accumulation of lineage-specific ampliconic regions, palindromes, transposable elements and satellites."
"Many Y chromosome genes expand in multi-copy families and some evolve under purifying selection."