WHY ARE SOME

INHERITED TRAITS
RELATED TO A PARENT’S
SEX?
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
1. Determine the different ways of sex determination in
humans and other organisms
2. Illustrate how X – linked and Y – linked traits are
transmitted
3. Identify sex- limited and sex- influenced traits
4. Compute the possibility of occurrence for sex-linked traits
Introduction

If you are to compare a male and female, there will be a lot of

traits that you will find different. This phenomenon, known as
Sexual Dimorphism, allows different species to have different
characteristics that amplify their ability to survive and to
produce offspring.
Explore
Let us check if you have a keen eye to determine female and male differences in the body.
Write down the differences of the following body parts between males and females.
BODY PART FEMALE MALE

HEAD
CHEST
ARMS
LEGS
FOOT
BUTTOCKS
HIPS
GENITALS
Let’s try to answer!

1. What are the most common traits you share with your
classmates?

2. What are the least common traits you share with your classmates?

3. Why do you think some traits are more common than others?
The Romanov Family of Russia is a curios family. Politically, they were a
superpower, with the Czar as their family head. Biologically, the only
heir to the throne, Alexei Nikolaevich, was plagued with a genetic
disease that puts the throne in trouble. Alexei was diagnosed with
Hemophilia, a rare disease of the blood that may put the whole Russian
nation into chaos with just a simple scratch. They found the root of this
disease by looking at the pedigree of the whole Romanov family and its
ancestry.
Hemophilia is a rare X- linked disease
that is predominant in men. People
with hemophilia tend to bleed
severely even from a small injury. The
cause of the disease may reside in the
X chromosome of each parent.

How come Alexei was the only one in

the family to have active hemophilia?
Why is the health of Alexei very
important to the family and Russia?
Why predominant in men?
Sex- linked trait such as hemophilia. This condition is more
common in males because the gene responsible is located on
the X chromosome. Since males only have one X chromosome,
if they inherit a faulty copy of this gene from their mother,
they will likely suffer this condition. Females, on the other
hand, have two X chromosomes, so they have a backup copy
of the gene. If one copy is faulty, the other may compensate,
resulting in a lower likelihood of having hemophilia.
Sex Determination in Humans
Humans tend to exhibit sexual dimorphism, but the
determination of sexes is quite simple. Humans have two
types of chromosomes designated for sex – the large X
chromosome and the small Y chromosome.
The Offspring that inherits an X chromosome from each
parent will become a Female (XX), while those that inherit an
X chromosome and Y chromosome will become a Male (XY).
Figure 2. humans follow an X-Y system of sex determination. The sex of
the offspring is often determined by the type ff sex chromosome that the
fertilizing sperm carries.
Figure 3. Chromosomes carry the DNA
and Genetic makeup of human.
Sex Determination in Humans
Chromosomes tend to form pairs based on type, size,
and shape. Out of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that
humans have, 22 pairs are considered as Autosomal
(not related to sex) and 1 pair is considered as sex
chromosomes.
In this pairing, an X chromosome can go with another X
chromosome since they are similar in terms of size and
shape; hence, females are produced.
The X chromosome can also pair with the Y
chromosome despite having different sizes and shapes.
The Y chromosome is five times smaller than the X
chromosome and these chromosomes do not resemble
each other. However, in the molecular analysis of these
chromosomes, the short ends of the Y chromosomes
are genetically homologous or similar to the X
chromosome.
This allow the chromosomes to pair with each other;
hence, male are produced. In this case, males are
referred to as Hemizygous – the chromosome pair is
not identical to each other.
Sex Determination in Humans
Humans tend to exhibit sexual dimorphism, but the
determination of sexes is quite simple. Humans have two
types of chromosomes designated for sex – the large X
chromosome and the small Y chromosome.
The Offspring that inherits an X chromosome from each
parent will become a Female (XX), while those that inherit an
X chromosome and Y chromosome will become a Male (XY).
Sex Determination in other Organisms
Most organisms follow the X-Y system of sex
determination, just like humans. However, there
are also notable cases wherein an entirely
different system is followed. These cases involve
different representative organisms, as follows:
A.) Z-W System
This method/system of sex determination is common
among birds, fishes, and some reptiles. In these
organisms, the sex chromosomes are labeled as Z, and
W. In this system of sex determination, males are
designated as ZZ, while females are represented by
ZW. As such, males differentiated through this method
are homogametic (same gametes) while females are
heterogametic (differentiated gametes).
Sex Determination in other
Organisms

The resultant offspring is influenced by

the sex chromosome that the egg
carries. As such, the W chromosome is
considered as the sex- determining
factor. Because of this, sex
determination in birds, fishes, and
some reptiles is a 50-50 chance or 1:1
ratio.
B.) X-Y modification
There are also cases wherein the X-Y system of
sex determination is modified. Modifications vary
from one organism to another – some organisms
only use the X chromosome, while some use
multiple numbers of X and Y chromosomes.
B.) X-Y modification
Common organisms that use such modification
include broad-headed bugs (Protenor spp.) and
fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).
For Protenor species, the number of X
chromosomes in an organism will determine its
sex. Also known as the XX / XO sex
determination, .
Figure 4. X-Y
modification of Protenor
spp. via XX / XO sex
determination.