Sex Chromosomes & The Future of Men

14 August 2006

Professor Jenny Graves

In humans and other mammals, females have two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. The Y chromosome is male determining because it bears a gene (SRY) that switches on the development of testes, which pump out male hormones. The X is a decent, ordinary chromosome, but the Y is a genetic wasteland – small and full of genetic junk, bearing only 45 genes, mostly active only in testes.

Professor Jenny Graves outlines why the human Y chromosome is running out of time and how it could lose its last 45 genes in just 10 million years. What happens when SRY disappears? Would this be the end of the line for humans? Professor Graves explains the latest scientific research and discuss why, as the human Y runs out of options, new sex determining genes may evolve, potentially leading to different hominid species.

This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of National Science Week 2006.

Broad Topics: Medicine and Life Science

Sub-topics: Biological Sciences

Areas: ANU College of Science

Professor Jenny Graves, Group Leader, Comparative Genomics Research, School of Biological Sciences, ANU College of Science