Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Determination of 41.2 kb of Y chromosome genomic sequence has been made from a cosmid that spans the Yp pseudoautosomal boundary and includes 18.5 kb of sequence from the patient-defined sex-determining region of the Y chromosome. An AceDB database of the sequence and the analysis data have been produced as a resource for studies of the evolution and population genetics of the Y chromosome. Comparison of the 18.5 kb from the sex determining region to the sex determining region of mouse does not locate any areas of similarity outside SRY/Sry. Indeed, no coding regions other than those previously reported can be detected anywhere in the 41 kb. The Y-specific and pseudoautosomal portions of this sequence have different repeat sequence and GC contents: this may have relevance both to the events defining the pseudoautosomal boundary and to the course of sequence evolution in the absence of recombination.