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Heterozygosity
Zygosity (the noun, zygote, is from the Greek "yoked," from "yoke") () is the degree to which both copies of a chromosome or gene have the same genetic sequence. In other words, it is the degree of similarity of the alleles in an organism. Most eukaryotes have two matching sets of chromosomes; that is, they are diploid. Diploid organisms have the same locus (genetics), loci on each of their two sets of homologous chromosomes except that the sequences at these loci may differ between the two chromosomes in a matching pair and that a few chromosomes may be mismatched as part of a chromosomal Sex-determination system#Chromosomal determination, sex-determination system. If both alleles of a diploid organism are the same, the organism is #Homozygous, homozygous at that locus. If they are different, the organism is #Heterozygous, heterozygous at that locus. If one allele is missing, it is #Hemizygous, hemizygous, and, if both alleles are missing, it is #Nullizygous, nullizygous. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominant Allele
In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and the second is called recessive. This state of having two different variants of the same gene on each chromosome is originally caused by a mutation in one of the genes, either new (''de novo'') or inherited. The terms autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive are used to describe gene variants on non-sex chromosomes ( autosomes) and their associated traits, while those on sex chromosomes (allosomes) are termed X-linked dominant, X-linked recessive or Y-linked; these have an inheritance and presentation pattern that depends on the sex of both the parent and the child (see Sex linkage). Since there is only one Y chromosome, Y-linked traits cannot be dominant or recessive. Additionally, there are other forms of dominance, such as incompl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homologous Chromosomes
Homologous chromosomes or homologs are a set of one maternal and one paternal chromosome that pair up with each other inside a cell during meiosis. Homologs have the same genes in the same locus (genetics), loci, where they provide points along each chromosome that enable a pair of chromosomes to align correctly with each other before separating during meiosis. This is the basis for Mendelian inheritance, which characterizes inheritance patterns of genetic material from an organism to its offspring parent developmental cell at the given time and area. Overview Chromosomes are linear arrangements of condensed DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and histone proteins, which form a complex called chromatin. Homologous chromosomes are made up of chromosome pairs of approximately the same length, centromere position, and staining pattern, for genes with the same corresponding Locus (genetics), loci. One homologous chromosome is inherited from the organism's mother; the other is inherited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pronucleus
A pronucleus (: pronuclei) denotes the nucleus found in either a sperm or egg cell during the process of fertilization. The sperm cell undergoes a transformation into a pronucleus after entering the egg cell but prior to the fusion of the genetic material of both the sperm and egg. In contrast, the egg cell possesses a pronucleus once it becomes haploid, not upon the arrival of the sperm cell. Haploid cells, such as sperm and egg cells in humans, carry half the number of chromosomes present in somatic cells, with 23 chromosomes compared to the 46 found in somatic cells. It is noteworthy that the male and female pronuclei do not physically merge, although their genetic material does. Instead, their membranes dissolve, eliminating any barriers between the male and female chromosomes, facilitating the combination of their chromosomes into a single diploid nucleus in the resulting embryo, which contains a complete set of 46 chromosomes. The presence of two pronuclei serves as the in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microinjection
Microinjection is the use of a glass micropipette to inject a liquid substance at a microscopic or borderline macroscopic level. The target is often a living cell but may also include intercellular space. Microinjection is a simple mechanical process usually involving an inverted microscope with a Optical power, magnification power of around 200x (though sometimes it is performed using a dissecting stereo microscope at 40–50x or a traditional Optical microscope#Compound microscope, compound upright microscope at similar power to an inverted model). For processes such as cellular or pronucleus, pronuclear injection the target cell is positioned under the microscope and two micromanipulation, micromanipulators—one holding the pipette and one holding a microcapillary needle usually between 0.5 and 5 μm in diameter (larger if injecting stem cells into an embryo)—are used to penetrate the cell membrane and/or the nuclear envelope. In this way the process can be used to int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Y Chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in therian mammals and other organisms. Along with the X chromosome, it is part of the XY sex-determination system, in which the Y is the sex-determining chromosome because the presence of the Y chromosome causes offspring produced in sexual reproduction to be of male sex. In mammals, the Y chromosome contains the SRY gene, which triggers development of male gonads. The Y chromosome is passed only from male parents to male offspring. Overview Discovery The Y chromosome was identified as a sex-determining chromosome by Nettie Stevens at Bryn Mawr College in 1905 during a study of the mealworm ''Tenebrio molitor''. Edmund Beecher Wilson independently discovered the same mechanisms the same year, working with Hemiptera. Stevens proposed that chromosomes always existed in pairs and that the smaller chromosome (now labelled "Y") was the pair of the X chromosome discovered in 1890 by Hermann Henking. She realized that th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
X Chromosome
The X chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in many organisms, including mammals, and is found in both males and females. It is a part of the XY sex-determination system and XO sex-determination system. The X chromosome was named for its unique properties by early researchers, which resulted in the naming of its counterpart Y chromosome, for the next letter in the alphabet, following its subsequent discovery. Discovery It was first noted that the X chromosome was special in 1890 by Hermann Henking in Leipzig. Henking was studying the testicles of '' Pyrrhocoris'' and noticed that one chromosome did not take part in meiosis. Chromosomes are so named because of their ability to take up staining (''chroma'' in Greek means ''color''). Although the X chromosome could be stained just as well as the others, Henking was unsure whether it was a different class of the object and consequently named it ''X element'', which later became X chromosome after it was established that it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haploinsufficiency
Haploinsufficiency in genetics describes a model of dominant gene action in diploid organisms, in which a single copy of the wild-type allele at a locus in heterozygous combination with a variant allele is insufficient to produce the wild-type phenotype. Haploinsufficiency may arise from a ''de novo'' or inherited loss-of-function mutation in the variant allele, such that it yields little or no gene product (often a protein). Although the other, standard allele still produces the standard amount of product, the total product is insufficient to produce the standard phenotype. This heterozygous genotype may result in a non- or sub-standard, deleterious, and (or) disease phenotype. Haploinsufficiency is the standard explanation for dominant deleterious alleles. In the alternative case of haplosufficiency, the loss-of-function allele behaves as above, but the single standard allele in the heterozygous genotype produces sufficient gene product to produce the same, standard phenotyp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heterogametic Sex
The XY sex-determination system is a sex-determination system present in many mammals (including humans), some insects ('' Drosophila''), some snakes, some fish ( guppies), and some plants (''Ginkgo'' tree). In this system, the sex of an individual usually is determined by a pair of sex chromosomes. Typically, females have two of the same kind of sex chromosome (XX), and are called the homogametic sex. Males typically have two different kinds of sex chromosomes (XY), and are called the heterogametic sex. In humans, the presence of the Y chromosome is responsible for triggering male development; in the absence of the Y chromosome, the fetus will undergo female development. In most species with XY sex determination, an organism must have at least one X chromosome in order to survive. The XY system contrasts in several ways with the ZW sex-determination system found in birds, some insects, many reptiles, and various other animals, in which the heterogametic sex is female. A te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
