Genetics 07: Man or Woman
遺傳學 07: 男性還是女性

Article A

Babies start developing gender in the early stage of the conception, the sex cells would suppress the opposite gender of the embryo based on the genes. Women have a pair of X chromosomes, and men have a X chromosome and a Y chromosome. The SRY genes in Y chromosomes is responsible for making the baby a boy, but there is a complex interaction going on behind this gene and it is not the only factor that decides the gender of a baby. A gene called DMRT1 keeps the stability of gender developments. If this gene is missing, the sex cells will start behaving in both gender and cause potential problem for the baby.

Article B

The Y chromosome was originally thought to only have the function of determine the maleness of an individual, but there is actually more than that. The X and Y chromosomes originated from the same chromosome, but the Y chromosome shrunk and it now contains around 20 times less genes than the X chromosomes. Scientists compared the Y chromosomes of various mammals and found out that they share similarities and have genes that could affect other parts of the genome. We figured out that the reason why our Y chromosome didn't shrink away completely is because they hold these dosage-dependent genes that are vital to our survival.

Article A

Males and females differentiate genetically in some ways, those things start at the XY chromosomes. Females have 2 X chromosomes and males have a X and a Y chromosomes. These start a complex web of reactions controlled by at least 30 genes which promote testis development for some and ovary development for others. However this is not always the case, sometimes there can be sex reversals causes by one of the 30 genes which can cause some females to have both X and Y chromosomes and some males to have on X chromosomes. There has also been speculation of genes affecting choice in sexual partner and sexual identity.

Article B

The genetic networks controlling early differentiation events in testis and ovary are still far from being understood. Using the HI-WISH method, new data has been provided on 72 genes suggesting that they play a role in gonad or sex duct development and/or sex determination. This method consisted of screening a tissue-specific library, removing abundent transcript. In total, among 138 genes isolated which showed tissue specific expression in the embryo, 79 were detected in the developing gonad or sex ducts. Twenty-seven have not been functionally described before, while 40 represent known genes and 12 are putative mouse orthologues.


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  • Last modified: 2024/01/31 02:35
  • by scott.chen