Split-sexed Organisms, More Common Than You Would Think

An article at the New York Times discusses split-sexed butterflies, and other multi-sexed creatures, that influenced the research that many scientists have conducted. It also goes on to discuss how split-sexed animals are much more common than many believe them to be, and that the genetics behind these creatures, as known as Gynandromorphs, can tell scientists a lot about how to treat sex related human diseases. One scientist talked about how sex has an impact on several different diseases, and on several aspects of life so understanding how these multi-sexed organisms operate genetically could be beneficial. The article also talks about the different mechanisms that can allow for these types of organisms to occur.

I think that this article was rather fascinating because I didn’t realize that there we so many different ways for these split-sexed creatures to occur, or how common they actually were in the wild. I also think that the possible applications of the information being learned from these unique creatures is quite interesting because its a rather unconventional way at studying human disease.  

A Cardinal with a Split Personality

In the New York Times, there is an article discussing the sighting of a very rare phenomenon in animals known as gynanromorphy in Erie, Pennsylvania.  This cardinal was noticed due to the difference in color between the male and female.  The male cardinal is the scarlet color most identify this bird as while the female is a taupe, but this bird is split in color right down the middle!

Daniel Hooper from Cornell University Lab of Ornithology speculates that during the fertilization period two separate embryos, that were fertilized separately, fuse together causing gynandromorphy.  A second theory is that the female egg contains both Z and W sex chromosomes (bird chromosomes are ZW for female and ZZ for male unlike humans which are XX and YY).  

The bird develops down the center of the vertebrae because the vertebrates develop in a “bilaterally symmetrical way” but one side usually bears a little heavier than the other.  Daniel would really like the chance to get his hands on this bird for studies.

If the bird is truly gynandromorphic then it would most like be infertile, but the couple have been keeping an eye on the bird and they are curious to see as to how it will react come to mating season.

Splitting Chromosomes- The Z and W to the Gynandromorph Cardinal

An unusual site came about when a gynandromorph cardinal- a rare cardinal that shows characteristics between mother and father at the same time. This event has occurred among other species such as the butterfly, reptiles and other birds however it is so rare that there is much left unknown about what is actually causing this phenomenon. Theories seem to arise from the idea that the mother carries two sets of her genes in which both become fertilized by two separate male sex chromosomes. When the birds develop bilaterally, they then become half female and male with minimal cells mixing. The only true way to know what is going on though is by running a blood test. As mentioned above, there is still a lot to learn about the gynandromorph process.

In the NYtimes.com article, Dr. Hooper states that not only is the physical coloration  of the bird is split down the middle but the bird even splits organs such as the brain. This fact alone brings many questions in the forms of how the birds brain functions, how does it process information and what other things inside the bird may be out of place or organized differently. This seems to be an amazing phenomenon that needs to be researched and studied for time to come so that we learn for all types of animals.