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Why can the Lyon hypothesis not be tested in a human female who is homozygous for one allele of the X-linked G6PD geneA. One cannot test the Lyon hypothesis in a human female with homozygous X-linked genes because the test requires an individual with an abnormal set of chromosomes (47, XXX or 48, XXXX) to see differences in X chromosome activity.B. One cannot test the Lyon hypothesis in a human female because inactivation of X chromosome occurs early in embryonic development.C. One cannot test the Lyon hypothesis with homozygous X-linked genes because in the absence of allelic alternatives inactivation of X chromosome does not occur.D. One cannot test the Lyon hypothesis with homozygous X-linked genes because the test requires identification of allelic alternatives to see differences in X chromosome activity.

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Answer:

D. One cannot test the Lyon hypothesis with homozygous X-linked genes because the test requires identification of allelic alternatives to see differences in X chromosome activity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Lyon hypothesis explains dosage compensation in mammals with XX-XY type of sex determination. The human females have two copies of X chromosomes while human males have only one copy of the X chromosome.

To balance the number of X linked genes between males and females, one X chromosome in all the somatic cells of a human female is inactivated during early embryonic development and is a presence in form of Barr body.

The inactivation of the X chromosome is random and either maternal or paternal X chromosome from a cell of a human female can be inactivated.

To observe the Lyon hypothesis, the expression of X linked genes is observed. For the purpose, the female should be heterozygous for a particular X linked gene to observe the expression of different alleles in her cells due to random inactivation of either of the X chromosome.

A human female with a homozygous X linked gene would express the same allele of the gene in all of her cells irrespective of the inactivation of the paternal or maternal X chromosome.

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