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What is the sexual phenotype of Drosophila that has XXXY sex chromosomes and two sets of autosomes?

User Rojin
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Final answer:

In Drosophila with XXXY chromosomes, the organism would likely show female characteristics due to the ratio of X chromosomes to autosome sets, leading to an intersex or atypical female phenotype.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sexual phenotype of Drosophila with XXXY sex chromosomes and two sets of autosomes is a bit complex since this is an abnormal chromosome number for fruit flies. Typically, male Drosophila have XY sex chromosomes and females have XX. However, with the presence of an additional X chromosome in this scenario, the Drosophila would likely exhibit female characteristics, as the phenotype is generally determined by the balance between the number of X chromosomes and the number of sets of autosomes. In Drosophila, a ratio of 1.0 (number of X chromosomes divided by the number of autosome sets) is typical of females (XX/AA), and a ratio of 0.5 is typical of males (XY/AA). With an XXXY individual, the ratio becomes 1.5 (XXX/AA), which would likely result in an intersex or atypical female phenotype due to the imbalance, but the specific phenotype can also depend on other genetic and environmental factors.

User Umbo
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