Progress in understanding the molecular mechanism of Xist RNA function through genetics

The Xist gene produces a long noncoding RNA that initiates chromosome-wide gene repression on the inactive X chromosome in female mammals. Recent progress has advanced the understanding of Xist function at the molecular level. This review provides an overview of insights from genetic approaches and puts the new data in the context of an emerging mechanistic model as well as the existing literature. Some consideration is given on how independent biochemical studies on X inactivation help to advance on the wider question of chromatin regulation in the mammalian dosage compensation system.This article is part of the themed issue 'X-chromosome inactivation: a tribute to Mary Lyon'.