A male cell that contained but one X chromosome,
Could supply two, when required to double,
And how did it to do it without major trouble?
She wondered and probed, she tested and pried,
Until the good fruit fly the answer supplied:
A DNA sequence that four times repeats,
Makes a protein find it and accomplish the feat,
By CLAMPing itself to the DNA chain,
And supplying the X, like a constant refrain,
That's needed to produce the sister cell,
And complete the transcript until all ends well!
And now my granddaughter took up the chase,
To find out more facts, and the challenge to face,
And learn why the CLAMP cells are absent, indeed,
In the sequence of females, where there is no need...