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Autosome

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Synonyms

Euchromosome; Somatic chromosome

Definition

All chromosomes except the sex chromosomes are referred to as autosomes. They exist in pairs in the somatic cells whereas singly in the gametic cells.

Introduction

Chromosomes can be categorized in two categories – autosomes and allososmes (sex chromosomes). All the chromosomes other than the sex chromosomes are autosomes. For example, in case of human diploid genome, 44 autosomes (22 pairs) are present along with 2 allosomes (a normal female will have a pair of X chromosome whereas a normal male will have a pair of X and Y chromosome). Autosomes have been numbered on the basis of their sizes from 1–22 in the human genome in contrast to the letters (X and Y) used for the allosomes. Genes located on these autosomes affect males and females in the same way (Ohno 2013). Another striking property of autosomes is that they are homomorphic, i.e., the position of the centromere is identical unlike the case of the male sex chromosome which...

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References

  • Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., & Walter, P. (2002). Molecular biology of the cell (4th ed.). London: Garland Science, Taylor and Francis.

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  • Craig, J. M., & Bickmore, W. A. (1993). Genes and genomes: Chromosome bands–flavours to savour. Bioessays, 15, 349–354.

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  • Niebuhr, E. (1978). The cri du chat syndrome. Human Genetics, 44, 227–275.

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  • Ohno, S. (2013). Sex chromosomes and sex-linked genes (Vol. 1). Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.

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  • Therman, E., & Susman, M. (2012). Human chromosomes: Structure, behavior, and effects. New York: Springer Science & Business Media.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology (MMV), Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Neelabh

Authors
  1. Neelabh
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Correspondence to Neelabh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Center for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hyderabad, 500046, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Akash Gautam

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Neelabh (2017). Autosome. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_40-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_40-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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