First Author | Hall NM | Year | 2003 |
Journal | Mamm Genome | Volume | 14 |
Issue | 7 | Pages | 437-47 |
PubMed ID | 12925892 | Mgi Jnum | J:84088 |
Mgi Id | MGI:2665198 | Doi | 10.1007/s00335-002-3068-4 |
Citation | Hall NM, et al. (2003) Usp9y (ubiquitin-specific protease 9 gene on the Y) is associated with a functional promoter and encodes an intact open reading frame homologous to Usp9x that is under selective constraint. Mamm Genome 14(7):437-47 |
abstractText | Sequences complementary to the X-linked ubiquitin-specific protease gene Usp9x (Dffrx) have been shown to map to the Sxr(b) interval of the mouse Y Chromosome (chr) and to be expressed in a testis-specific manner. In humans, ubiquitously expressed functional homologues (USP9Y and USP9X DFFRY/DFFRX) are present on both sex chromosomes, whereas in mouse it remains to be demonstrated that the Y-linked sequences encode a functional protein. In this paper, it is shown that the Usp9y gene encodes a potentially functional ubiquitin-specific protease possessing a core promoter region that shares several features characteristic of other testis-specific genes. Analysis of synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide changes suggests that there is constraint on the amino acid sequence of both the mouse Usp9x and Usp9y genes, a finding that mirrors similar analysis of the human orthologs. Thus, in both mouse and human, selection is acting to maintain the amino acid sequence of the X and Y-linked genes. This indicates that in both species the genes on each sex chromosome continue to encode an important function. |