MOSAIC!!

[nugget]

Hello all,
i have been reading about Klinefelters syndrome a whole lot and yet i havent seemed to figure out what the difference between mosaic and non-mosaic is, if anybody knows ... please
Cheers,

[Poison]

If someone knows, please tell me what does "mosaic" and non-mosaic" refers to...

[sham]

Female has two X chromosomes. But one X chromosome was inactivated during embryonic development. Which X chromosome inactivated is random in each cell of a female. Therefore each female is a mosaic of genetically different tissue patches (depends on which X is inactivated). For example, female haterozygous carrier for red-green colour blindness will have patches of retinal cells with defective colour vision interspersed among patches of normal vision. In Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), the male is also a mosaic because of the inactivation of one X chromosome. Normal male is a non-mosaic.
Sham

[MrMistery]

Oh yes, now i remember reading about this is a 9th grade book. But i though it was just a metaphore, i didn't know it is an actual genetics term...

[Poison]

Thanks.

[sdekivit]

it is a genetics term. There is a big difference between mosaics and chimeras when describing chromosomal abnormalities.

[nugget]

Thank you very much, it cleared up my confusion, all the other explanations i was finding didnt make sense as yours did.