Skip to content

#X-chromosome inactivation

4 public questions tagged with this topic.

Barr body represents:

Dosage compensation in female mammals equalizes X-linked gene expression relative to XY males. One X chromosome randomly inactivates early embryogenesis through coating by XIST long noncoding RNA expressed from inactive X, recruitment of Polycomb repressive complex 2 depositing H3K27 trimethylation, H2A K119 ubiquitination, promoter DNA methylation and late replication shift. Condensed inactive X persists as heterochromatic Barr body at nuclear periphery in interphase somatic nuclei, detectable in buccal smears or neutrophil drumsticks. It remains transcriptionally silent except pseudoautosoma

Ref: Mary Lyon Hypothesis 1961; Lodish et al., Molecular Cell Biology, 9th ed., Chapter 8: Barr Body Inactive X Chromosome