Xist and calico cats: How extra genes on X chromosomes get turned off
Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 08:01
in Biology & Nature
Females carry two copies of the X chromosome which—unlike the male's gene-poor Y chromosome—are home to 1000 genes crucial to development. So how does the developing female embryo inactivate duplicate genes along the chromosome, a process that explains the random mix of orange and black color patterns of the calico cat?