What a difference an X or Y makes: sex chromosomes, gene dose, and epigenetics in sexual differentiation.

A modern general theory of sex determination and sexual differentiation identifies the factors that cause sexual bias in gene networks, leading to sex differences in physiology and disease. The primary sex-biasing factors are those encoded on the sex chromosomes that are inherently different in the male and female zygotes. These factors, and downstream factors such as gonadal hormones, act directly on tissues to produce sex differences and antagonize each other to reduce sex differences. Recent studies of mouse models such as the four core genotypes have begun to distinguish between the direct effects of sex chromosome complement (XX vs. XY) and hormonal effects. Several lines of evidence implicate epigenetic processes in the control of sex differences, although a great deal of information is needed about sex differences in the epigenome.