13. Mendelian Genetics

A man with hemophilia (a recessive, sex-linked condition) has a daughter without the condition. She marries a man who does not have hemophilia. What is the probability that their daughter will have hemophilia? Their son? If they have four sons, what is the probability that all will be affected?

Pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy is an inherited disorder that causes gradual deterioration of the muscles. It is seen almost exclusively in boys born to apparently unaffected parents and usually results in death in the early teens. Is this disorder caused by a dominant or a recessive allele? Is its inheritance sex-linked or autosomal? How do you know? Explain why this disorder is almost never seen in girls.

A woman is a carrier of the X-linked recessive color blindness gene. She has children with a man with normal color vision. Which of the following is true of their offspring?a. All the males will be color blind;b. All the females will be carriers;c. Half the females will be color blind;d. Half the males will be color blind.

A fruit fly with a gray body and red eyes (genotype BbPp) is mated with a fly having a black body and purple eyes (genotype bbpp). What ratio of offspring would you expect if the body-color and eye-color genes are on different chromosomes (unlinked)? When this mating is actually carried out, most of the offspring look like the parents, but 3% have a gray body and purple eyes, and 3% have a black body and red eyes. Are these genes linked or unlinked? What is the recombination frequency?

A series of matings shows that the recombination frequency between the black-body gene and the gene for dumpy (shortened) wings is 36%. The recombination frequency between purple eyes and dumpy wings is 41%. What is the sequence of these three genes on the chromosome?

The pedigree in the figure below illustrates the inheritance of a sex-linked recessive trait. What is the genotype of individual II-5?

a. XHXH;b. XHXh;c. XhXh;d. XHY;e. XhY

As a genetic counselor, you advise couples about the possibility of genetic disease in their offspring. Today you met with an engaged couple, both of whom are phenotypically normal. The man, however, has a brother who died of Duchenne-type muscular dystrophy, an X-linked recessive condition. His fiancée, whose family has no history of the disease, is worried that the couple's sons or daughters might be afflicted. The sister of this man is planning to marry his fiancée's brother. How would you advise this second couple?

As a genetic counselor, you advise couples about the possibility of genetic disease in their offspring. Today you met with an engaged couple, both of whom are phenotypically normal. The man, however, has a brother who died of Duchenne-type muscular dystrophy, an X-linked recessive condition. His fiancée, whose family has no history of the disease, is worried that the couple's sons or daughters might be afflicted. How would you advise this couple?

A couple are both phenotypically normal, but their son suffers from hemophilia, a sex-linked recessive disorder. What fraction of their children are likely to suffer from hemophilia? What fraction are likely to be carriers?

Why do more men than women have colorblindness?

Two mothers give birth to sons at the same time in a busy hospital. The son of couple 1 is afflicted with hemophilia A, which is a recessive X-linked disease. Neither parent has the disease. Couple 2 has a normal son even though the father has hemophilia A. The two couples sue the hospital in court, claiming that a careless staff member swapped their babies at birth. You appear in court as an expert witness. What do you tell the jury? Make a diagram that you can submit to the jury.

Heather was surprised to discover she suffered from red-green colorblindness. She told her biology professor, who said, 'Your father is colorblind, too, right?' How did her professor know this? Why did her professor not say the same thing to the colorblind males in the class?

Recall that hemophilia is an X-linked recessive disease. If a woman with hemophilia had children with a man without hemophilia, what is the chance that their first child will have the disease? What is the chance that their first child will be a carrier?