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Chinese scientists propose a new theory of sex determination
- Tests conducted on a patient with somatic chimerism have led Chinese scientist to a new theory about how gender is determined
- Researchers have suggested the sex a person is could be based on chromosomes in reproductive cells instead of body cells
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Chinese scientists are proposing a new theory that suggests the formation of male or female features is based on chromosomes in reproductive cells, rather than body cells.
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The prevailing theory of sex determination is that the chromosome composition of our body cells, being either XY or XX, determines whether we develop male or female traits.
However that theory could not explain one patient’s case, leading researchers from the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of Citic-Xiangya to rethink the hypothesis.
The 30-year-old patient had somatic chimerism, a rare condition where cells with both female XX and male XY sex chromosomes are present.
While the patient had female characteristics and organs, her tissues were a mixture of cells with XX and XY chromosomes.
This included the patient’s granulosa cells – cells in the ovaries that produce female hormones – with some ovarian follicles even comprising 100 per cent XY cells, according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Reproduction.
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