Autosomes

Autosomes are chromosomes that are not involved in determining the sex of an individual. Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes, for a total of 44 autosomes. Different species have different numbers of autosomes. Autosomes contain the majority of the genetic information for the organism, including traits such as hair color, eye color, and height. Autosomes are also known as somatic chromosomes because they are present in all cells of the body, not just the reproductive cells. The autosomes are transmitted from both parents to their offspring, with each parent contributing one copy of each autosome to their offspring. Autosomes are composed of genes which are responsible for coding proteins, and these proteins are responsible for the expression of traits. Mutations in autosomes can lead to genetic disorders, and can be passed on to future generations depending on the type of mutation.