Sex chromosome, either of a pair of chromosomes that determine whether an individual is male or female. The sex chromosomes of human beings and other mammals are designated by scientists as X and Y. In humans the sex chromosomes comprise one pair of the total of 23 pairs of chromosomes. The other 22 pairs of chromosomes are called autosomes.

Individuals having two X chromosomes (XX) are female; individuals having one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY) are male. The X chromosome resembles a large autosomal chromosome with a long and a short arm. The Y chromosome has one long arm and a very short second arm. This path to maleness or femaleness originates at the moment of meiosis, when a cell divides to produce gametes, or sex cells having half the normal number of chromosomes. During meiosis the male XY sex-chromosome pair separates and passes on an X or a Y to separate gametes; the result is that one-half of the gametes (sperm) that are formed contains the X chromosome and the other half contains the Y chromosome. The female has two X chromosomes, and all female egg cells normally carry a single X. The eggs fertilized by X-bearing sperm become females (XX), whereas those fertilized by Y-bearing sperm become males (XY).

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sex: Sex chromosomes

In most species of animals the sex of individuals is determined decisively at the time of fertilization of the egg, by means of chromosomal distribution. This process is the most clear-cut form of sex determination. When any cell in the body divides, except during the formation of the sex cells, each daughter cell receives the full complement of chromosomes; i.e., copies of the two sets...

Unlike the paired autosomes, in which each member normally carries alleles (forms) of the same genes, the paired sex chromosomes do not carry an identical complement of genetic information. The X chromosome, being larger, carries many more genes than does the Y. Traits controlled by genes found only on the X chromosome are said to be sex-linked (see linkage group). Recessive sex-linked traits, such as hemophilia and redgreen colour blindness, occur far more frequently in men than in women. This is because the male who inherits the recessive allele on his X chromosome has no allele on his Y chromosome to counteract its effects. The female, on the other hand, must inherit the recessive allele on both of her X chromosomes in order to fully display the trait. A woman who inherits the recessive allele for a sex-linked disorder on one of her X chromosomes may, however, show a limited expression of the trait. The reason for this is that, in each somatic cell of a normal female, one of the X chromosomes is randomly deactivated. This deactivated X chromosome can be seen as a small, dark-staining structurethe Barr bodyin the cell nucleus.

The effects of genes carried only on the Y chromosome are, of course, expressed only in males. Most of these genes are the so-called maleness determiners, which are necessary for development of the testes in the fetus.

Several disorders are known to be associated with abnormal numbers of sex chromosomes. Turners syndrome and Klinefelters syndrome are among the most common of these. See also X trisomy; XYY-trisomy.

sex chromosome disorder of human females, in which three X chromosomes are present, rather than the normal pair. More common than Turners syndrome, where only one X chromosome is present, X-trisomy usually remains undetected because affected individuals appear normal, experience puberty,...

relatively common human sex chromosome anomaly in which a male has two Y chromosomes rather than one. It occurs in 1 in 5001,000 live male births, and individuals with the anomaly are often characterized by tallness and severe acne and sometimes by skeletal malformations and mental...

the sum of features by which members of species can be divided into two groupsmale and femalethat complement each other reproductively.

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