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Transcriptional controls and dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

DOSAGE compensation is the equalisation of X-linked gene products in males and females. In Drosophila there is substantial evidence to support the contention that both X chromosomes are simultaneously active in somatic cells of females1, and that the regulatory mechanism operates at the level of transcription2,3. Most discussions of this mechanism have focused on the modulation of regulatory factors controlling the rate of RNA synthesis per template4,5. A change in the level of transcription may also be achieved by altering the quantity of template. We present here various arguments and some experimental evidence discounting controlled variation of total template as the basis for dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster.

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ROEHRDANZ, R., LUCCHESI, J. Transcriptional controls and dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 269, 243–245 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269243a0

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