Index >> Determination of Sex

Determination of Sex
The sexually reproducing organisms may be classified into two types. viz., monoecious or hermaphrodite and dioecious. In the monoecious organisms both male and female gametes or sex cells are produced by a single individual, e.g., most higher plants and some animals of lower groups. In the majority of cases, however, the species is split up into two sections, from which we derive the word sex from the Latin sews meaning section or separation. The male section has the testes or male gonad and the female the ovaries or female gonad.
This kind of separation of the sexes is called gonochorism. The primary function of such a sexual differentiation of a species into male and female sexes, is to prevent the combination of gametes derived from the same parent, and the maintenance of a high degree of heterozygosity and genetic exchange. Further, the organisms in which both male and female gametes are produced by different individuals are called dioecious.