Immune complexity: making a male (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, October 03, 2020, 20:20 (1300 days ago) @ David Turell

It has two driving parts:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201002105756.htm

"An international research collaboration with The University of Queensland found the Y-chromosome gene that makes mice male is made up of two different DNA parts, not one, as scientists had previously assumed.

"'Expression of the Y chromosomal gene Sry is required for male development in mammals and since its discovery in 1990 has been considered a one-piece gene," he said.

"'Sry turns out to have a cryptic second part, which nobody suspected was there, that is essential for determining the sex of male mice. We have called the two-piece gene Sry-T."

"The scientists tested their theory and found that male mice (XY) lacking in Sry-T developed as female, while female mice (XX) carrying a Sry-T transgene developed as male.

"The success rate for the experiments was almost 100 per cent.

***

"'Sry is a master switch gene because it flicks the switch for male development, it gets the ball rolling for a whole series of genetic events that result in a baby being born as a male instead of female.

"'This new piece of the gene is absolutely essential for its function; without that piece, the gene simply doesn't work.

"'We've discovered something massively important in biology here, because without Sry there can be no sexual reproduction and hence no propagation and survival of mammalian species.'"

Comment: We do not understand how sexual reproduction first started or how it happened. Obviously male and female have to be present. Now we see both male and female DNA are needed in a special way. There is no way chance caused this arrangement since both parts must be simultaneously present. Only by design fits.