The purpose of dosage compensation is to even out the sex chromosomes. Females have two X's and males have an X and a Y. The Y chromosome is considerably smaller, which means there are much less genes on it. To make everything even, one of the females X chromosomes is condensed. This turns off that X chromosome, and under a microscope it appears as a small black spot in the cell's nucleus (called a Barr Body).
Source: http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078664276/281029/ccq_ch13_q3.gif
What do you think some of the side effects are for females when one X chromosome is "turned off"? How do you think scientists were able to prove this?
5 comments:
but what about the mutant genes!
i love your scientific theme!
Nice post on the inheritance gene. Each of my grandchildren look like identical twins of my own children. I jokingly say that it is the mothers curse of "I hope you have kids that act just like you" which I know it isn't
goodness gracious..what a way to procrastinate? I don't even find that complex of things to research when I'm wasting time :)
But I do find it interesting...my son looks so much like me, I look like my mother and my mothers looks like my grandmother...inheritance genes? we must have had something!
Interesting.
thanks for having blog like this :)
Post a Comment