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The X chromosome carries hundreds of genes but few, if any, of these have anything to do directly with sex determination. Early in embryonic development in females, one of the two X chromosomes is permanently inactivated in nearly all somatic cells (cells other than egg and sperm cells).
In the XY sex-determination system, the female-provided ovum contributes an X chromosome and the male-provided sperm contributes either an X chromosome or a Y chromosome, resulting in female (XX) or male (XY) offspring, respectively. Hormone levels in the male parent affect the sex ratio of sperm in humans. [25]
Most spiders have a variation of the XO system in which males have two different X chromosomes (X 1 X 2 O), while females have a pair of X 1 chromosomes and a pair of X 2 chromosomes (X 1 X 1 X 2 X 2). [1] Some spiders have more complex systems involving as many as 13 different X chromosomes. [1] Some Drosophila species have XO males. [10]
Females therefore have 23 homologous chromosome pairs, while males have 22. The X and Y chromosomes have small regions of homology called pseudoautosomal regions. An X chromosome is always present as the 23rd chromosome in the ovum, while either an X or Y chromosome may be present in an individual sperm. [4]
The X-chromosome carries a larger number of genes in comparison to the Y-chromosome. In humans, X-chromosome inactivation enables males and females to have an equal expression of the genes on the X-chromosome since females have two X-chromosomes while males have a single X and a Y chromosome. X-chromosome inactivation is random in the somatic ...
The X and Y sex chromosomes are different in shape and size from each other, unlike the rest of the chromosomes , and are sometimes called allosomes. In some species, such as humans, organisms remain sex indifferent for a time during development ( embryogenesis ); in others, however, such as fruit flies, sexual differentiation occurs as soon as ...
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] Thus, male mammals typically have an X and a Y chromosome (XY), while female mammals typically have two X chromosomes (XX).
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]