Dosage compensation and inverse effects in triple X metafemales of Drosophila

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Apr 30;110(18):7383-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1305638110. Epub 2013 Apr 15.

Abstract

Dosage compensation, the equalized X chromosome gene expression between males and females in Drosophila, has also been found in triple X metafemales. Inverse dosage effects, produced by genomic imbalance, are believed to account for this modulated expression, but they have not been studied on a global level. Here, we show a global expression comparison of metafemales (XXX; AA) with normal females (XX; AA) with high-throughput RNA-sequencing. We found that the majority of the X-linked genes in metafemales exhibit dosage compensation with an expression level similar to that of normal diploid females. In parallel, most of the autosomal genes were expressed at about two-thirds the level of normal females, the ratio of inverse dosage effects produced by the extra X chromosome. Both compensation and inverse effects were further confirmed by combination of X-linked and autosomally located miniwhite reporter genes in metafemales and relative quantitative PCR of selected genes. These data provide evidence for an inverse dosage component to X chromosome compensation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Crosses, Genetic
  • Dosage Compensation, Genetic*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics*
  • Female
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Male
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • X Chromosome / genetics*

Associated data

  • GEO/GSE41679