Healthy individuals may have just one sex chromosome, as long as it is an X chromosome. Why can't a person survive with a Y chromosome and no X chromosome?
a) The X chromosome has a full complement of genetic material, much of which is vital to life; the Y chromosome is missing the vast majority of these genes.
b) The X chromosome is capable of duplicating itself, so that the affected individual will eventually have two X chromosomes; the Y chromosome is incapable of duplicating itself.
c) The Y chromosome has a full complement of genetic material, much of which is vital to life; the X chromosome is missing the vast majority of these genes.
d) A person with just an X chromosome would be a female, while a person with just a Y chromosome would not have a sexual identity.
e) The statement above is incorrect; it is possible to survive with just a Y chromosome, it's just very rare.
Answer: The X chromosome has a full complement of genetic material, much of which is vital to life; the Y chromosome is missing the vast majority of these genes.