Dosage compensation in sciarids is achieved by hypertranscription of the single X chromosome in males

Abstract

Dosage compensation refers to the process whereby females and males with different doses of sex chromosomes have similar amounts of products from sex chromosome-linked genes. We analyzed the process of dosage compensation in Sciara ocellaris, Diptera of the suborder Nematocera. By autoradiography and measurements of X-linked rRNA in females (XX) and males (XO), we found that the rate of transcription of the single X chromosome in males is similar to that of the two X chromosomes in females. This, together with the bloated appearance of the X chromosome in males, support the idea that in sciarids dosage compensation is accomplished by hypertranscription of the X chromosome in males.