Keywords: supernumerary chromosome

B chromosomes reveal a female meiotic drive suppression system in Drosophila melanogaster

S. L. Hanlon and R. S. Hawley,  Current Biology,  2023.
Selfish genetic elements use a myriad of mechanisms to drive their inheritance and ensure their survival into the next generation, often at a fitness cost to its host.(1)(,)(2) Although the catalog of selfish genetic elements is rapidly growing, our understanding of host drive ...
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Studying the active role of the maize B chromosome in the modulation of gene expression

University of Missouri,  Phys Org,  2022.
A team of University of Missouri biologists has made a new discovery that provides novel insights into the function and properties of the maize B chromosome. The study was led by Dr. Xiaowen Shi and Dr. Hua Yang, postdoctoral fellows in the Birchler lab, and reported in the ...
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Effect of aneuploidy of a nonessential chromosome on gene expression in maize

X. Shi, H. Yang, C. Chen, J. Hou, T. Ji, J. Cheng and J. A. Birchler,  Plant Journal,  2022.
The nonessential supernumerary maize B chromosome (B) has recently been shown to contain active genes and be capable of impacting gene expression of the A chromosomes. However, the effect of the B chromosome on gene expression is still unclear. In addition, it is unknown whether ...
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The supernumerary B chromosome of maize: drive and genomic conflict

J. A. Birchler and H. Yang,  Open Biol,  11:210197. 2021.
The supernumerary B chromosome of maize is dispensable, containing no vital genes, and thus is variable in number and presence in lines of maize. In order to be maintained in populations, it has a drive mechanism consisting of nondisjunction at the pollen mitosis that produces ...
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Satellite DNAs unveil clues about the ancestry and composition of B chromosomes in three grasshopper species

Milani, DB, Vanessa; Ferretti, Ana; Palacios-Gimenez, Octavio; Melo, Adriana; Moura, Rita; Loreto, Vilma; Song, Hojun; Cabral-de-Mello, Diogo,  Genes,  9:e523. 2018.
Supernumerary (B) chromosomes are dispensable genomic elements occurring frequently among grasshoppers. Most B chromosomes are enriched with repetitive DNAs, including satellite DNAs (satDNAs) that could be implicated in their evolution. Although studied in some species, the ...
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