Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life (MindTap Course List)
Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781305073951
Author: Cecie Starr, Ralph Taggart, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 10, Problem 3CT

Almost all calico cats (one is pictured in FIGURE 10.7B) are female. Why?

Chapter 10, Problem 3CT, Almost all calico cats (one is pictured in FIGURE 10.7B) are female. Why? B When this calico cat was

B When this calico cat was an embryo, one of the two X chromosomes was inactivated in each of her cells. The descendants of the cells formed her adult body, which is a mosaic for expression of X chromosome genes. Black fur arises in patches where genes on the X chromosome inherited from one parent are expressed; orange fur arises in patches where genes on the X chromosome inherited from the other parent are expressed.

FIGURE 10.7 ►Animated X chromosome inactivation.

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XX individuals can be sex-reversed males if one of their X chromosomes contains a translocated portion of the Y chromosome that includes the SRY gene. In light of what you now know about X-chromosome inactivation, it seems that this karyotype might have more complex consequences. In fact, although most such males are completely sex-reversed, X-chromosome inactivation can cause some of these XX males to have varying degrees of residual female characteristics. a. X-chromosome inactivation in normal XX embryos occurs earlier in development than SRY production in normal XY embryos. When present on a translocation X chromosome, SRY is subject to inactivation. Formulate a hypothesis to explain why many XX individuals with a translocation X chromosome that includes the SRY gene are not completely sex-reversed (male). b. Based on your answer to part (a), why do you think some individuals with this karyotype are completely sex-reversed?
Figure 19.25 shows that the Sxl protein binds to the mRNA of the msl-2 gene, inhibiting translation of the mRNA’s proper reading frame. The MSL-2 protein is a transcription factor that binds to the X chromosome in XY males to double the level of X-linked gene transcription, thus equalizing X-linked gene expression in XY males and XX females. a. In which sex, XY males or XX females, would the Sxl protein bind to the msl-2 mRNA? b. As discussed in Problem 35, some Sxl alleles are lethal to females and others are lethal to males. Is the function of Sxl in regulating the synthesis of Msl-2 protein sufficient to explain the sex-specific lethality caused by both kinds of alleles? c. Predict the effect of loss-of-function mutations in msl-2 on male and female fertility and viability.
Cat fur coat color genetics is interesting. Orange fur is dominant (''B'') to black fur (''b'') and piebald, which is white spotting, is dominant (''S'') to non-white-spotted (''s''). Both of those genes are located on the X chromosome. In addition, in cats, somatic cells exhibit X-inactivation randomly, which explains why there are tortoiseshell cats (when heterozygous, have orange and black spots) as well as calico cats (orange and black but also with white spots). An orange and white spotted male is mated with a tortoiseshell female. Draw a dihybrid Punnet square to show the possible offspring:
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Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life (MindTap...
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ISBN:9781305073951
Author:Cecie Starr, Ralph Taggart, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr
Publisher:Cengage Learning
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