section_path: Sex-determination systems/Genetic/XY sex determination
section_name: XY sex determination
paragraph_text: XY sex determination
  
  Humans and most other mammals have an XY sex-determination system: the Y chromosome carries factors responsible for triggering male development, making XY sex determination mostly based on the presence or absence of the Y chromosome. It is the male gamete that determines the sex of the offspring. In this system XX mammals typically are female and XY typically are male. However, individuals with XXY or XYY are males, while individuals with X and XXX are females. Unusually, the platypus, a monotreme mammal, has ten sex chromosomes; females have ten X chromosomes, and males have five X chromosomes and five Y chromosomes. Platypus egg cells all have five X chromosomes, whereas sperm cells can either have five X chromosomes or five Y chromosomes.
  
  XY sex determination is found in other organisms, including insects like the common fruit fly, and some plants. In some cases, it is the number of X chromosomes that determines sex rather than the presence of a Y chromosome. In the fruit fly individuals with XY are male and individuals with XX are female; however, individuals with XXY or XXX can also be female, and individuals with X can be males.