Y Gene Domination: Male Progeny or Female Progeny?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the genetic mechanisms of sex determination, specifically focusing on the dominance of the Y chromosome and its implications for male and female progeny. Participants explore the nature of chromosomes versus genes and the complexities of sex-determining systems across different species.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that a heterozygous XY genotype results in male progeny, while a homozygous XX genotype results in female progeny, suggesting a dominance of the Y chromosome.
  • Others clarify that the terms used refer to chromosomes rather than genes, questioning the application of the term "dominant" in this context.
  • One participant discusses the mechanisms of sex determination, mentioning environmental factors and genetic controls that influence sex differentiation, and notes that the determinative chromosome can vary in evolution.
  • Another participant raises a question about the definition of dominance, suggesting that true dominance requires a pair of different alleles for the same gene, which does not apply to the XY chromosome pair.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the concept of dominance as it relates to the Y chromosome, with some supporting the idea of Y dominance and others challenging its applicability based on genetic definitions. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the characterization of the Y chromosome in terms of dominance.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the definitions of dominance and the nature of genetic control in sex determination, as well as the implications of chromosome variations in different species.

physicist007
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When the genotype of zygote is heterozygous XY then it results into a male progeny while to obtain a female progeny homozygous XX conditions are needed. Although homozygous YY condition is not possible in nature, but can we say that Y gene seems dominant??
 
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physicist007 said:
When the genotype of zygote is heterozygous XY then it results into a male progeny while to obtain a female progeny homozygous XX conditions are needed. Although homozygous YY condition is not possible in nature, but can we say that Y gene seems dominant??
Those are chromosomes, not genes, right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_chromosome
 
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Sex determining systems in animals work by flipping particular genetic switches (activating genes usually) which result in a cascade of events leading to the differentiation of an individual into one gene or another. The molecular genetics of many of these have been worked out in great detail.
The initial flipping of the "master" switch can result from:
particular environmental conditions (like temperature in alligators),
experimental manipulations,
or the counts of numbers of particular genes (genetic control).

Genetic controls like this can make use of particular genes on non-sex chromosomes, or on sex chromosomes (chromosomes that appear different from each other). Chromosomes are very large pieces of DNA which (often) carry many genes on them.
Sex chromosome systems have a homogametic and a heterogametic sex. The homogametic sex has two copies of the same kind of chromosome (like the XX in mammalian females), The heterogametic sex is the one with two different sex chromosomes (like XY in mammalian males). It can be the other way around, like in birds but the chromosomes are named Z and W and the female is ZW while the male is ZZ (maybe the Brits would say "double Zed").

Surprisingly, which chromosome is determinative can change in evolution. Recently, it has been demonstrated that genetic lines of zebrafish (AB and Tübingen) picked up and fixed (only genes in the breeding population) significant sex determining genes mutations (probably when they were first generated from a small number of animals). Nevertheless, they still were able to make males and females, but not in predictable ratios.

Platies and swordfish (of the genus Xiphophorus) have changed their sex chromosomes during their complicated evolution (lots of crossing between different species).

There can also be weird and unusual (but natural) chromosome situations like YY or XXX. But they are not common.
 
physicist007 said:
Although homozygous YY condition is not possible in nature, but can we say that Y gene seems dominant??

To be dominant, don't you need a pair of chromosomes with different alleles for the same gene? That wouldn't apply to the XY chromosome pair since they don't have the same genes.
 
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