Irfa Khan

Jamie. Spring 2012

Genetic Maker of Men Is Diminished but Holding Its Ground, Researchers Say Nicholas Wade February 22, 2012 New York Times The Y-chromosome, or the male sex-determining chromosome is becoming smaller and smaller especially in comparison to the healthy X, female sex determining, chromosome. People fear that if the Y chromosome continues to shrink that it will eventually disappear completely, leaving us with no male race and thus not allowing reproduction of our species. This idea was brought about when the X and Ychromosomes were compared. Originally the X and Y chromosomes shared some 800 genes in common (Wade, NYT), but now the Y chromosome only carries 19 of those original genes making it more than 40 times smaller than its ancestral size. However, researchers led by Jennifer F. Hughes and David C. Page from the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass., believe that the Y-chromosome will no longer shrink. The male determining gene first came about 320 million years ago when both the X and Y had the same set of 1000 or so genes (Wade, NYT). The X and Y chromosomes exchange DNA, but in order to prevent certain genes from the Y-chromosome, that will insert unwanted male qualities on the X, an inhibitory zone was created around the Y chromosome that covered everything but the tips. The genes at the tip of the Y were allowed to exchange with the X but everything in-between was stuck, eventually those genes became too old to be useful. The Y chromosome now only has 19 of those original genes, most of which favor sperm reproduction. Researchers believe that all those old stagnant genes are gone and the useful ones remain and will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Decoding the Y-chromosome of one of our common ancestors, the rhesus monkeys, backed up the

hypothesis. In the last 25 million years only one gene has been lost showing that the equilibrium of the Y-chromosome is achieved. Dr. Page and his colleagues showed the history of the Y-chromosome exhibiting that the inhibitory zone expanded in five stages, of which the first began 320 million years ago and the last ended 29 million years ago (Wade, NYT), putting the idea that the Y-chromosome will disappear to rest. Chromosomes are DNA that carry genes, genetic information, and are found in the nucleus of living cells. Humans have 46 chromosomes or diploid, 23 are given from the mother one haploid and 23 from the father. We have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 22 of them are identical pairs and the 23rd pair determines the sex. Nettie Stevens discovered that in the beetle Tenebrio Molitor the females had 20 large chromosomes, But diploid cells in males contain 19 large chromosomes and one small one (Freeman, pg241). The one small chromosome was called the Y-chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and males have an X and Y chromosome. Although X and Y chromosome contain different genes, they have regions that are similar enough to lead to proper pairing during prophase of meiosis I (Freeman, pg241). The X and Y-chromosomes are no longer identical but the tips of the chromosomes align during meiosis and exchange genes as if they were a matching set. The Y chromosome has a single gene named SRY. The protein encoded by the SRY causes the formation of the testes, which is why the Ychromosome is male determining. Learning these facts in biology helped me better understand what exactly the Y-chromosome was and why it shrinking in size was such a big deal and what it meant in terms of what genes would be lost. It also helped with how the X and Y chromosomes were interrelated with each other and how they eventually paired up to form a male even though they were very different.

All articles exhibit a bias but this article did a good job on showing science accuracy. It did not only have opinions on why they think the male gene is disappearing, it had research and experiment to back it up. The article influenced my thinking to research on what genes remain on the Y chromosome from its ancestral form. Also it made me wonder what genes are similar on the tips that allow for the X and Ychromosomes to pair up and what would happen if those changed. This article is a prime example of evolution, how are body has evolved to better cater to our needs. This articles shows the world that there is a lot about chromosomes we dont know and if we find out more about them it could help our race whether it deals with syndromes that could be found out at birth, or knowing the sex of your baby a few days after fertilization. This article shows us that although we know a lot, there is still a lot left to be found and not to jump to conclusions on what we see. 1.WADE, NICHOLAS. "Genetic Maker of Men Is Diminished but Holding Its Ground, Researchers Say." Www.nytimes.com. New York Times, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/science/y-chromosome-thoughdiminished-is-holding-its-ground.html?src=mv&ref=science>. 2. Freeman, Scott. Biological Science. Boston: Benjamin Cummings, 2011. Print. 3. BRADMAN, NEIL, and MARK THOMAS. "Science Spectra [Article]." UCL. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/tcga/ScienceSpectra-pages/SciSpect-1498.html>.