Xist imprinting is promoted by the hemizygous (unpaired) state in the male germ line

Abstract

The long noncoding X-inactivation–specific transcript (Xist gene) is responsible for mammalian X-chromosome dosage compensation between the sexes, the process by which one of the two X chromosomes is inactivated in the female soma. Xist is essential for both the random and imprinted forms of X-chromosome inactivation. In the imprinted form, Xist is paternally marked to be expressed in female embryos. To investigate the mechanism of Xist imprinting, we introduce Xist transgenes (Tg) into the male germ line. Although ectopic high-level Xist expression on autosomes can be compatible with viability, transgenic animals demonstrate reduced fitness, subfertility, defective meiotic pairing, and other germ-cell abnormalities. In the progeny, paternal-specific expression is recapitulated by the 200-kb Xist Tg. However, Xist imprinting occurs efficiently only when it is in an unpaired or unpartnered state during male meiosis. When transmitted from a hemizygous father (+/Tg), the Xist Tg demonstrates paternal-specific expression in the early embryo. When transmitted by a homozygous father (Tg/Tg), the Tg fails to show imprinted expression. Thus, Xist imprinting is directed by sequences within a 200-kb X-linked region, and the hemizygous (unpaired) state of the Xist region promotes its imprinting in the male germ line.