Function and evolution of sex determination mechanisms, genes and pathways in insects

Tanja Gempe1, Martin Beye

  • 1Department of Genetics, Heinrich Heine University, Duesseldorf, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Duesseldorf, Germany.

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Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
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Dosage Compensation

In animals, gender is determined by the number and type of sex chromosome. For example, human females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X and one Y chromosome, whereas C.elegans with one X chromosome is a male, and the one with two X chromosomes is a hermaphrodite.
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