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Glite Dictionary
Y chromosome

Y chromosome

7 5.5
A part of cells in males that helps decide male body features
  • noun
  • /waɪ ˈkrɒməsəʊm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cromosoma Y
  • During this time, the Y chromosome became increasingly distinctive and isolated.
  • gene on the Y chromosome
  • X and Y chromosome
  • male Y chromosome

But now we can also do what's known as Y DNA testing, which is just looking at DNA from the Y chromosome, and you can amplify that up with the PCR.

Examples

  • Monotremes do have Y chromosomes, and the males develop a penis and testicles and produce sperm.

    Academic text (2002)

  • But the future of the Y chromosome seems clear.

    Academic text (2002)

  • So the male would have had a white Y chromosome paired with that.

  • That Y chromosome, that tiny little Y chromosome makes a big difference.

  • The second cell expressing CD45 contains the Y chromosome, and thus is male.

    Academic text (2003)

  • All the genes on the Y chromosome probably have only a few million years left before they vanish.

    Academic text (2002)

  • If you have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, your ratio is 2:1, and you're male.

    Blog text (8)

  • For example, many of these male-building genes on the Y chromosome began to be expressed in the testicles and nowhere else.

    Academic text (2002)

  • There are 22 pairs of human chromosomes; males have an X and Y chromosome while females have two X chromosomes.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The Y chromosome is responsible for determining male biological characteristics in humans.

Surface Forms

Y chromosome singular
Y chromosomes plural

Morphology

Y + chromosome

A B1 learner who knows 'Y' as a letter and 'chromosome' as a cellular structure can transparently infer this is a particular kind or label of chromosome (i.e., a chromosome called 'Y'). However, the specific biological role — that it is the male sex chromosome and determines male characteristics — is not derivable from the letter 'Y' itself and requires domain knowledge or exposure, so the expression is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Y chromosome gets its name from early scientists who labelled the two sex chromosomes X and Y, and they may have chosen the letter Y simply as the partner to X. Because the small Y is passed from 'father' to 'son' and carries male traits, Y chromosome now means the male sex chromosome.