Researchers Discover Use of Novel Mechanism Preserves Y Chromosome Genes

All other chromosomes occur in pairs and preserve genetic integrity by exchanging information with matching genes on the homologous chromosome, a process called “crossing over.” But the Y chromosome lacks that option, being the only chromosome that is unpaired. Instead, the Y appears to exchange genes between the two arms that make up the chromosome itself.

This phenomenon, called gene conversion — the non-reciprocal transfer of genetic information from one DNA molecule to another — has been previously observed on a small scale over long evolutionary timescales between repeated sequences on the same chromosome, but not at the dramatic frequency apparently employed by the Y chromosome.

For more information, go to: Nature

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