Transcriptional kinetics of X-chromosome upregulation

Abstract

Ohnos hypothesis postulates that X-chromosome upregulation rectifies X-dose imbalance relative to autosomal genes, present in two active copies per cell. Here we dissected X-upregulation into kinetics of transcription, inferred from allele-specific single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNAseq) data from somatic mouse cells. We confirmed increased X-chromosome expression, and remarkably found that the X-chromosome achieved upregulation by elevated burst frequencies. This provides mechanistic insights into X-chromosome upregulation.