double gender

[amoebapower]

how is it possible to have a hermaphrodite child, what genetic structure to they have? are they like yy chromosomes? i know there's xy and xx chromosomes , but what happens if you have both genders?

[Terry K.]

I believe it involves when a mother's egg doesn't divide it's chromatids during Meiosis II. The "tids" don't separate and thus, you are left with an egg with no genetic material and one with XX. When the male fertilizes the egg with a Y, then the child is XXY, and theoretically can be hermaphroditic. That's my guess, maybe someone else has hard proof.

[MrMistery]

hmmm... i have no idea about genetics of being a hermaphrodite. But i can tell you this much: It ain't yy! You can not survive with yy, you nead at least one x chromosome.
About XXY(Kleinefelter syndrome) i have read that the testicles don't develop well and that mamary glands appear after puberty, so my guess is as good as yours...

[Poison]

YY? Maybe possible when a sperm will be able to fertilize another sperm.

[MrMistery]

LOL... I meant the genes on the X chromosome are vital..

[Poison]

Yes, I know. I was just kidding.

[toonx]

YY is not very rarely in human !It happens at the II reducing !

[jesstickle]

i think to be a hermaphrodite you must have both male and female FUNCTIONING parts. i think no such thing exists in humans and we wrongly name things such as kleinfelters etc as hermaphrodite because most people are not interested enough to learn lots of conditions. i think things that are really hermaphrhodites are like fish and stuff. people with male and female genitalia are actually one or the other but have charecteristics of both. could be wrong tho its a while since my cytogenetics lectures!

[scottyiu]

Then how do you get XYY? I know there is XYY but i can't figure it out?

[Poison]

OK. Think of meiosis I when chromosomes make their pairs. the Y makes its pair too, but the sister chromatids are not seperated properly, means 2Y goes to the same pole. so when the sperm that carries 2Y fertilizes the egg, XYY comes out.

[toonx]

thats quite right ! ^^

[guru7892]

YY? Maybe possible when a sperm will be able to fertilize another sperm.

well you could probably remove the y chromosones from two sperm cells, and then remove the X from an egg, and finally add the 2 Y to the egg cell but, this would probably end up as either a miscariage due to the lack of DNA or a severly high risk of deformities,(due to the lack of possible dominate genes).

so this experiment would only (moraly)be possible with fruit flies (since there is no FFLF(fruit fly liberation front)

FFLF...