sex-linked

Thân thiện

A scientist points to a diagram showing a sex-linked trait in fruit flies.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Genetics: Describing a gene, trait, or condition that is determined by a gene located on a sex chromosome (typically the X chromosome). Its inheritance pattern differs between males and females because the number of X chromosomes differs between the sexes.

Usage

• The term is used primarily in biology and genetics to describe the pattern of inheritance for specific characteristics.
• It modifies nouns like "gene," "trait," "disorder," "characteristic," or "inheritance."
• Example: "The gene for red-green color blindness is sex-linked."

Examples

• Adjective:
  • Hemophilia is a well-known sex-linked disorder.
  • In fruit flies, the gene for white eyes is a sex-linked recessive trait.
  • The sex-linked inheritance pattern explains why the condition appears more frequently in males.

Advanced Usage

• Sex-linked recessive: This is the most common type of sex-linked inheritance. A female needs two copies of the recessive allele (one on each X chromosome) to express the trait, while a male only needs one copy (on his single X chromosome). This is why conditions like Duchenne muscular dystrophy are much more common in males.
• X-linked: Often used synonymously with "sex-linked," as the vast majority of sex-linked genes are located on the X chromosome. "X-linked" is sometimes considered more precise.
• Y-linked: Refers to traits determined by genes on the Y chromosome. These are also technically sex-linked but are much rarer and are inherited exclusively from father to son.

Variants and Related Words

• Sex linkage (noun): The phenomenon or the pattern of inheritance itself.
  • Example: "The sex linkage of the trait was discovered through pedigree analysis."
• X-linked (adjective): A more specific synonym for the most common form of sex-linked inheritance.
• Y-linked (adjective): Referring to genes on the Y chromosome.

Synonyms

• X-linked (in most common contexts)

Antonyms

• Autosomal: Referring to genes located on any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome (autosomes). Autosomal traits are inherited with equal probability by males and females.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. concerning characteristics that are determined by genes carried on the sex chromosomes (on the X chromosome in particular)