Barr body: Difference between revisions

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Created page with "A Barr body is an inactivated X chromosome in a female somatic cell. It becomes inactivated by the process of lyonization; the pr..."
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Revision as of 12:40, 27 November 2017

A Barr body is an inactivated X chromosome in a female somatic cell. It becomes inactivated by the process of lyonization; the process is there to insure only one X chromosome is active. It is initiated from a site called the XIC (X inactivation centre)

[1]. The key products from this site are the non-coding RNA transcripts Xist and Tsix. Xist work by coating the X outwards leading to it becoming heterochromatin. Not all genes however are silenced and about 10-15% escape inactivation[2].

  1. http://www.nature.com/articles/nrg2987
  2. Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, Raff M, Roberts K and Walter P (2008) Molecular Biology of The Cell, 5th edition, New York: Garland Science