X Marks the Spot: How X Chromosome Inactivation Gives Females an Advantage

Abstract

Have you ever looked at a calico cat and wondered how it got its multicolored coat? Or have you wondered why more boys than girls are colorblind? The combination of colors in the cat, and the reason some people are more likely to have traits like colorblindness or to get certain diseases, all comes back to one little part of the body, the X chromosome! Learning more about how our genes make us unique helps scientists understand howwe avoid certain diseases.We wanted to know how the X chromosome affects disease in cells. We used mice to study how one of the X chromosomes turns itself off in females and how this process shapes the design of the body, in health and disease. WHY