section_path: Sex-determination systems/Genetic/XO sex determination
section_name: XO sex determination
paragraph_text: XO sex determination
  
  In the XO sex-determination system, males have one X chromosome (XO) while females have two (XX). All other chromosomes in these diploid organisms are paired, but organisms may inherit one or two X chromosomes. This system is found in most arachnids, insects such as silverfish (Apterygota), dragonflies (Paleoptera) and grasshoppers (Exopterygota), and some nematodes, crustaceans, and gastropods.
  
  In field crickets, for example, insects with a single X chromosome develop as male, while those with two develop as female.
  
  In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, most worms are self-fertilizing hermaphrodites with an XX karyotype, but occasional abnormalities in chromosome inheritance can give rise to individuals with only one X chromosome—these XO individuals are fertile males (and half their offspring are male).