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.
A germ cell is any cell that gives rise to the gametes of an organism that reproduces sexually. In many animals, the germ cells originate in the primitive streak and migrate via the gut of an embryo to the developing gonads. There, they undergo meiosis, followed by cellular differentiation into mature gametes, either eggs or sperm. Unlike animals, plants do not have germ cells designated in early development. Instead, germ cells can arise from somatic cells in the adult, such as the floral meristem of flowering plants.
David C. Page is an American biologist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the director of the Whitehead Institute, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator. He is best known for his work on mapping the Y-chromosome and on its evolution in mammals and expression during development.
Sex-determining region Y protein (SRY), or testis-determining factor (TDF), is a DNA-binding protein encoded by the SRY gene that is responsible for the initiation of male sex determination in therian mammals. SRY is an intronless sex-determining gene on the Y chromosome. Mutations in this gene lead to a range of disorders of sex development with varying effects on an individual's phenotype and genotype.
Spermatocytes are a type of male gametocyte in animals. They derive from immature germ cells called spermatogonia. They are found in the testis, in a structure known as the seminiferous tubules. There are two types of spermatocytes, primary and secondary spermatocytes. Primary and secondary spermatocytes are formed through the process of spermatocytogenesis.
Y linkage, also known as holandric inheritance, describes traits that are produced by genes located on the Y chromosome. It is a form of sex linkage.
The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a protein structure that forms between homologous chromosomes during meiosis and is thought to mediate synapsis and recombination during prophase I during meiosis in eukaryotes. It is currently thought that the SC functions primarily as a scaffold to allow interacting chromatids to complete their crossover activities.
Deleted in azoospermia-like is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DAZL gene.
Testis-specific Y-encoded protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TSPY1 gene.
Lysine-specific demethylase 5D is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the KDM5D gene. KDM5D belongs to the alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylases superfamily.
Zinc finger protein 165 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZNF165 gene.
Doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1, also known as DMRT1, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the DMRT1 gene.
Protein boule-like is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BOLL gene.
Zinc finger X-chromosomal protein is a protein that in mammals is encoded by the ZFX gene of the X chromosome.
Zinc finger protein 10 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZNF10 gene.
Kelch domain-containing protein 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KLHDC3 gene.
Transcriptional repressor CTCFL also known as BORIS is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CTCFL gene.
HORMA domain-containing protein 1 (HORMAD1) also known as cancer/testis antigen 46 (CT46) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HORMAD1 gene.
The meiotic recombination checkpoint monitors meiotic recombination during meiosis, and blocks the entry into metaphase I if recombination is not efficiently processed.
Early growth response protein 4 (EGR-4), also known as AT133, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EGR4 gene.
