Skip to main content
Pearson+ LogoPearson+ Logo
Ch. 7 - Sex Determination and Sex Chromosomes
Klug - Concepts of Genetics  12th Edition
Klug12th EditionConcepts of Genetics ISBN: 9780135564776Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 7, Problem 21

In mice, the Sry gene is located on the Y chromosome very close to one of the pseudoautosomal regions that pairs with the X chromosome during male meiosis. Given this information, propose a model to explain the generation of unusual males who have two X chromosomes (with an Sry-containing piece of the Y chromosome attached to one X chromosome).

Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand that the Sry gene is normally located on the Y chromosome and is critical for male sex determination in mice.
Recognize that the pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) on the X and Y chromosomes allow pairing and recombination during male meiosis.
Propose that an abnormal crossover event occurs between the Y chromosome region containing the Sry gene and the X chromosome within or near the pseudoautosomal region during meiosis.
Explain that this crossover transfers the Sry-containing segment from the Y chromosome onto one of the X chromosomes, resulting in an X chromosome carrying Sry.
Conclude that fertilization involving this X chromosome with Sry can produce males with two X chromosomes, one of which carries the Sry gene, leading to male development despite the absence of a full Y chromosome.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Video duration:
3m
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Pseudoautosomal Regions and Chromosome Pairing

Pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) are homologous segments found at the ends of the X and Y chromosomes that allow them to pair and recombine during male meiosis. This pairing is essential for proper segregation of sex chromosomes. Because the Sry gene is near a PAR, it can be involved in recombination events that transfer Y chromosome segments to the X chromosome.
Recommended video:
Guided course
00:30
Regions of X Chromosomes

Sry Gene and Sex Determination

The Sry gene is the primary sex-determining gene on the Y chromosome that initiates male development by triggering testis formation. Its presence typically leads to male phenotypes, even if the individual has two X chromosomes, as Sry expression overrides the default female developmental pathway.
Recommended video:
Guided course
04:24
Sex Determination

Chromosomal Translocation and Unusual Karyotypes

Chromosomal translocation involves the transfer of a chromosome segment to a non-homologous chromosome. In this case, a piece of the Y chromosome containing Sry can become attached to an X chromosome during meiosis, producing XX individuals with male characteristics. This explains the presence of males with two X chromosomes but carrying the Sry gene.
Recommended video:
Guided course
12:42
Reciprocal Translocation
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Can the Lyon hypothesis be tested in a human female who is homozygous for one allele of the X-linked G6PD gene? Why, or why not?

573
views
Textbook Question

Predict the potential effect of the Lyon hypothesis on the retina of a human female heterozygous for the X-linked red-green color blindness trait.

684
views
Textbook Question

Cat breeders are aware that kittens expressing the X-linked calico coat pattern and tortoiseshell pattern are almost invariably females. Why are they certain of this?

491
views
Textbook Question

The genes encoding the red- and green-color-detecting proteins of the human eye are located next to one another on the X chromosome and probably evolved from a common ancestral pigment gene. The two proteins demonstrate 76 percent homology in their amino acid sequences. A normal-visioned woman (with both genes present on each of her two X chromosomes) has a red-color-blind son who was shown to have one copy of the green-detecting gene and no copies of the red-detecting gene. Devise an explanation for these observations at the chromosomal level (involving meiosis).

597
views
Textbook Question
What is the role of the enzyme aromatase in sexual differentiation in reptiles?
695
views
Textbook Question

In the wasp Bracon hebetor, a form of parthenogenesis (the development of unfertilized eggs into progeny) resulting in haploid organisms is not uncommon. All haploids are males. When offspring arise from fertilization, females almost invariably result. P. W. Whiting has shown that an X-linked gene with nine multiple alleles (Xₐ, Xb, etc.) controls sex determination. Any homozygous or hemizygous condition results in males, and any heterozygous condition results in females. If an Xₐ/Xb female mates with an Xₐ male and lays 50 percent fertilized and 50 percent unfertilized eggs, what proportion of male and female offspring will result?

612
views