Molecular phylogenetics of the hominoid Y chromosome.

The Human Y-chromosome plays a central role in sex determination, and is composed of DNA sequences homologous to the Y-chromosome, families of Y-specific repetitive DNA sequences, and single copy sequences. We investigated the chromosomal location of Y-specific DNA sequences, in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) by the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique. The Yq subtelomeric DNA sequences (DYS427) have been observed to be intact at the presumed loci. Also, the amelogenin gene (AMELY, Yp11.2) revealed sequence homology and positional conservation in the higher primates, except in gorilla where positional divergence was observed.