A repeating unit of the DYZ1 family on the human Y chromosome consists of segments with partial male-specificity |
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Authors: | Y Nakagome S Nagafuchi S Seki Y Nakahori T Tamura M Yamada M Iwaya |
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Affiliation: | Department of Congenital Abnormalities Research, National Children's Medical Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. |
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Abstract: | An average-sized human Y chromosome contains about 3,000 copies of the repeating DNA family DYZ1. A major repeating unit of the family, pHY10, has been cloned and an entire 3,564-bp sequence has already been determined by Nakahori et al. (1986). In the present study, pHY10 was divided into six consecutive segments, A to F, which were independently amplified by the PCR technique to see if they were strictly male-specific. pHY10 appears to consist of segments of various male-specificity. The B segment was apparently male-specific; however, the use of additional techniques (Southern-blot analysis or second PCR amplification in combination with the standard PCR) revealed homologous sequences in some females. None of the six segments of pHY10 may be male-specific in a strict sense. Different segments appear to be conserved during evolution to different extents. The 323-bp E segment appears to be the least conserved and to be responsible for the generation of most variations within the DYZ1 family. |
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