ΜΗΠΔΚΣΖ΅

History of Sex Determination


Notions in Antiquity

             : Male Form imposed on Female Substance: cf. sculptor on clay

                                                Left versus right testis (experimental?)

             Plato’s : Drinking party proposes origins as three pairs of conjoined twins

FF / MF / MM -> lesbian, hetero, gay

             (ca 200 CE):  3 ΣΛ‚ + 3 ΣΛΆΔ uterine locations determine sex of offspring

 

(~1250) contrasts male versus female anatomy

(1578 – 1657): uterine scars in post-partum animals

: gross anatomy of anatomical differences

 

Modern Period

Eggs come from Ovary

                        (1641 – 1673): ovarian follicles

                                                                   Assumed follicle = ovum
              
         (1792 – 1876): human ovum (1827)

Schwann: mammalian ovum as single cell (1834)

(1523 – 1262): oviduct conducts ovum -> uterus

(1807 - 1882): ovum in rabbit follicle (1842)

Sperm as agents of reproduction

A Leeuwenhoek (1688) sees human sperm: (non-reproductive) β€˜animalcules’ ?

(1848 - 1920): mitosis in nematodes (1873)

(1846 - 1910): meiosis and pronuclei in Ascaris (2N = 4)
Fertilization
            (1729 - 1799): artificial fertilization of frog egg w/ added sperm (1784)

                                                artificial insemination of dog (1780s)
            (1849 - 1922): pronuclear fusion of sperm & egg in sea urchins (1876)


            Cytology anticipates Mendelism

                        (1834 - 1914): reduction division necessary in germ line theory (1880s)

                        (1858 – 1942): β€œX element” in male

                        (1870 – 1946): unpaired β€œX” in male grasshoppers only (1898)

                        (1873 – 1912): pairing of chromosomes in meiosis

                                & propose (~1903)

                                      EB Wilson characterizes females w/ XX, males w/ XY: anticipates TH Morgan

                                   => First "Mendelian” trait: sex determination (though not β€œMendelian”)

                        (1861 – 1912): hetero-chromosome (later, Y) in Tenebrio (1905)

                                Alternatives

                                      XX & XO beetles (EB Wilson & students)

                                      (1877 – 1920): ZW & ZZ birds reverse mammalian pattern

                                      2N & N Hymenoptera ("queens" vs workers, drones): haplo-diploid sex determination

                                Dosage compensation (HJ Muller 1932)

                (1925 – 2014): heterochromatization (β€œLyonization”) of alternate Xs

                Alternative (correct) explanation of tortoiseshell / calico cats


Hormonal mechanisms in sex determination

                (1870 – 1947): origin of freemartin cattle (1916)

                                Fraternal twin ΣΛ‚ /ΣΛΆΔ cattle w/ anastomosed chorions: male β€œmasculinizes” female

                                cf. 70% of women in Huxley’s β€œβ€ (1931)

                Testosterone isolated, (1934); restores virility to castrated birds, mammals

                                Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) induces egg production

                                Luteinizing Hormone (LH) induces formation of corpus luteum

                                Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) suppresses female structures


Non-standard combinations of cytology & hormonal environments

                β€œHermaphrodites” (both genitalia)
                                vs β€œPseudo-hermaphrodites” (contrasted internal & external genitalia)

                                Non-disjunction: XO (: 1938) XY XO mosaic Turner

                                Fusion: XX + XY at blastocyst stage β€œtrue” hermaphrodites

     SRY gene at Yp11.2

                                XY includes SRY [Sex-Regulating Y] locus  standard male

                                XY does not include SRY AIS ()
                                        Formerly known as TFS (Testicular Feminization Syndrome)

                                        External female genitalia & 2o appearance: absent / streak gonads

                                XX with SRY insertion external male genitalia; sterile


                Contrast genetic, anatomy, & orientation sex & sexuality
                        In : the 1968 Olympics & subsequently

                                Learned vs Innate

                                      Genetic vs non-genetic innate

                                Evolutionary psychology

 

Implications of Sex

                Darwinian Sexual Selection

                            Secondary Sex characteristics (antlers, peacock tails, bright colors in (male) birds)
                            Deleterious as survival traits: e.g., more conspicuous to predators
                            Advantageous as reproductive trait: > Survival value

                Genetic Recombination
                            Asexual clones more successful in short-term, constant environment
                            Sexual species more successful in long-term, variable environments




Text material Β©2022 by Steven M. Carr