The male Y chromosome can disappear in humans

The human race has long been decided by X and Y chromosomes.Females are born with two X chromosomes, while males are born with one X and one Y. This future may be in jeopardy as The Y chromosomes continue to disappear gradually in many mammalian species, according to a new study.

The study, published in the interdisciplinary scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), they analyzed the platypus, a mammal that has different sex chromosomes, while most mammals have an X- and Y-chromosome-based system similar to that of humans. However, the Australian platypus has pairs of XY chromosomes that would normally indicate that the mammal was male, indicating that XY pairing was typical of mammalian species not so long ago.

The researchers estimated that the Y chromosome has lost more than 900 active genes in the 166 million years, the time period that humans and Australian platypuses evolved separately. At this rate, genes associated with the Y chromosomes will become extinct in 11 million years. While researchers fear that humans will be the next species to lose their Y chromosomes, global scientific community A mammal that determines sex is already known by

Genetics Even after losing their Y chromosomes, two species of rodents.

Eastern European mole rats and Japanese spiny rats no longer have Y chromosomes, having all but disappeared due to evolution. Spiny rats, an endangered species native to several Japanese islands, were able to reproduce as male and female independently due to a change in rat chromosome 3.

It’s unclear how mole chars evolved beyond the Y chromosomes, though the researchers will use the findings in spiny mice to continue research. “The evolution of differentiated sex chromosomes has been studied intensively for many decades to answer questions not only about the mechanism of sex determination, but also about the genetic changes of the sex chromosomes.The University of Tokyo researchers wrote the study authors in their abstract.

The Y chromosome is about to disappear

“Mammals have a very stable XY chromosome system, with almost complete Y degradation.” While the eventual disappearance of the Y chromosomes could theoretically lead toHuman extinctionEvolution can also lead to the development of new sex-determining genes that take precedence over weakening of the Y chromosomes.