Why the Y chromosome can trigger sex disorders
http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_09_09_24_en.html9/24/09
Research on the mystery behind the Y chromosome's role in sex disorders kicked off a few years ago, when the David Page lab at the US-based Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research reported the discovery of eight large areas of palindromes, or mirror-imaged genetic sequences, along the Y chromosome.
This sex chromosome, the researchers had reported, cannot swap genes with another chromosome because it has no partner. Gene swapping helps secure good genes, and the problem with the Y chromosome is that it can only exchange genes with itself, so palindromes play a major role in this process. The Y chromosome folds itself in the middle of palindromic regions, effectively pairing identical sequences in order to make the most of a good genetic swap.
