In a remarkable advancement in scientific research, scientists have successfully deciphered the blueprint of the human genome present in males; the ‘Y’ chromosome. With this discovery, scientists are hopeful to understand the core reason behind male infertility.
For the first time ever, scientists revealed the complete blueprint of the Y chromosome. The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes (X & Y) that is present in males and is responsible for determining the male gender in the offspring; the X chromosome is associated with females. The Y chromosome is threadlike in structure and carries genetic information from one cell to another.
“Many of these genes are important for fertility and reproduction, and especially spermatogenesis, so being able to catalog normal variation as well the situations when, for example, azoospermia (an absence of sperm in semen) occurs, could be helpful for IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinics as well as further research into the activity of these genes,” Cechova said – a scientist involved in the research.
According to scientists, some more Y chromosomes have also been identified. It was also revealed that previously some Y chromosomal DNA was mistaken for bacteria, which is not the case and further research is going on to understand the nature of this DNA.
Cechova added, “We now have a recipe on how to assemble the Y chromosome fully, which, while expensive at the moment, can translate into personalized genomics in the future.”
