Lecture 1+2 Flashcards
Pairs of similarly sized chromosomes:
Females have 8, including the 2X.
Males have 7.5, because Y is smaller.
Reasons that genetic identity is maintained in mitosis:
Homologous chromosomes don’t exchange genetic material - sister chromatids are identical.
Meiosis events:
Meiosis I: recombination and reduction to haploid. homologues split.
Meiosis II: chromatids separate.
Spermatogenesis:
Spermatogonium (2N) -- duplication -- Primary spermatocyte (4N) -- telophase I -- 2 secondary spermatocytes (2N) -- after meiosis II -- 4 spermatids (1N) -- after maturation -- 4 spermatozoa (1N)
Oogenesis:
Oogonium (2N) -- duplication -- Primary oocyte (4N) -- prophase I -- Arrested primary oocyte (4N) -- meiosis I -- Secondary oocyte (2N) and polar body #1 -- separation of chromatids -- Mature oocyte (1N) and polar body #2
Sex determination: genetic sex
Determined at fertilization: whether sperm bears X or Y.
Sex determination: genotypic sex
Determined by parental sex chromosomes.
Sex determination: gonadal sex
Determined by genotypic sex at 9 weeks of gestation.
External genitalia is expressed after gestation, 38-40 weeks.
Sex determination: phenotypic sex
Determined by gonadal sex at puberty.
Epigenetics:
A change in phenotype without a change in genotype.
Probably happen due to DNA methylation and histone modification.
In fetuses, epigenomes direct stem cell differentiation.
Development of testes:
Cortex regresses into tunica albuginea. Medulla develops. Primary sex cords hollow out to become seminiferous tubules.
Development of ovaries:
Cortex becomes more pronounced and more vascularized at the expense of the medulla.
Default sex:
Female. Need lots of conditions to make male.
Testis-determining effect of Y chromosome:
Male sex is established when Y tells primary sex cords to differentiate into seminiferous tubules.
TDF/SRY:
A single gene located on the short arm of the Y chromosome. Needed for testicular development.
Translocation of TDF:
XX male. During father’s meiosis, X and Y chromosomes recombine at distal end of short arms.
Sterile with small testes and feminine traits.
Gonadal dysgenesis: XO
Loss of one X chromosome. Gonads appear as a streak or line in the adult pelvic sidewall.
Gonadal dysgenesis: Turner syndrome
Most common example of gonadal dysgenesis.
45 XO. Females with short stature, primary amenorrhea, sexual infantalism.
SRY-related abnormalities: 46 XX
True hermaphrodites. No Y chromosome but still have testes - possess both male and female sex organs.
SRY-related abnormalities: 45 XO
Pseudohermaphrodites - only one type of gonadal tissue, but morphological characteristics of both sexes. Testes and ovary streak.
Male development of genital ducts:
Paramesonephric/Mullerian duct degenerates. Mesonephric/Wolffian duct develops into vas deferens, seminiferous tubules, ejaculatory duct.
Female development of genital ducts:
Mesonephric/Wolffian duct degenerates. Paramesonephric/Mullerian duct develops into oviduct, uterus, and upper third of vagina.