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X-chromosome

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The X chromosome (X-DNA) is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in humans (the other is the Y chromosome). 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, after it was discovered later.

The sex chromosomes X X are one of the 23 homologous pairs of chromosomes in a female. The X chromosome spans more than 153 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) and represents about 5% of the total DNA in women's cells, 2.5% in men's.

Each person normally has one pair of sex chromosomes in each cell. Females have two X chromosomes, whereas males have one X and one Y chromosome. Both males and females retain one of their mother's X chromosomes, and females retain their second X chromosome from their father. Since the father retains his X chromosome from his mother, a human female has one X chromosome from her paternal grandmother (father's side), and one X chromosome from her mother.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. The X chromosome contains about 2000 genes compared to the Y chromosome containing 78 genes, out of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome. Genetic disorders that are due to mutations in genes on the X chromosome are described as X linked.

See also


GNU head This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "X-chromosome/en".