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Sex chromosomes (also referred to as allosomes, heterotypical chromosome, gonosomes, heterochromosomes, [1] [2] or idiochromosomes [1]) are chromosomes that carry the genes that determine the sex of an individual. The human sex chromosomes are a typical pair of mammal allosomes. They differ from autosomes in form, size, and behavior.
The XX/XY sex-determination system is the most familiar, as it is found in humans. The XX/XY system is found in most other mammals, as well as some insects. In this system, females have two of the same kind of sex chromosome (XX), while males have two distinct sex chromosomes (XY).
All animals have a set of DNA coding for genes present on chromosomes. In humans, most mammals, and some other species, two of the chromosomes, called the X chromosome and Y chromosome, code for sex. In these species, one or more genes are present on their Y chromosome that determine maleness.
The X chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in many organisms, including mammals, and is found in both males and females. It is a part of the XY sex-determination system and XO sex-determination system .
Most mammals, including humans, have an XY sex-determination system: the Y chromosome carries factors responsible for triggering male development. In the absence of a Y chromosome, the fetus will undergo female development. This is because of the presence of the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome, also known as the SRY gene. [5]
The sex chromosome in a human egg is always an X chromosome since a female only has X sex chromosomes. In sperm, about half the sperm have an X chromosome and half have a Y chromosome. [2] If an egg fuses with sperm with a Y chromosome, the resulting individual is male.
Someone with two X chromosomes (such as the majority of human females) has only one Barr body per somatic cell, while someone with one X chromosome (such as most human males) has none. Mammalian X-chromosome inactivation is initiated from the X inactivation centre or Xic, usually found near the centromere. [6]
Most mammalian females have two copies of the X chromosome, while males have only one X and one smaller Y chromosome; some mammals, such as the platypus, have different combinations. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] One of the female's X chromosomes is randomly inactivated in each cell of placental mammals while the paternally derived X is inactivated in marsupials.