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Ch. 3 - Cell Division and Chromosome Heredity
Sanders - Genetic Analysis: An Integrated Approach 3rd Edition
Sanders3rd EditionGenetic Analysis: An Integrated ApproachISBN: 9780135564172Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 3, Problem 15

A woman with severe discoloration of her tooth enamel has four children with a man who has normal tooth enamel. Two of the children, a boy (B) and a girl (G), have discolored enamel. Each has a mate with normal tooth enamel and produces several children. G has six children—four boys and two girls. Two of her boys and one of her girls have discolored enamel. B has seven children—four girls and three boys. All four of his daughters have discolored enamel, but all his boys have normal enamel. Explain the inheritance of this condition.

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Step 1: Begin by analyzing the inheritance pattern of the condition. Severe discoloration of tooth enamel could be inherited in a dominant or recessive manner, and it may be linked to autosomal or sex chromosomes. Examine the data provided for clues about the inheritance mechanism.
Step 2: Observe the woman with discolored enamel and her partner with normal enamel. Two of their children (a boy and a girl) have discolored enamel, suggesting that the condition is not sex-linked but could be autosomal dominant. If it were autosomal recessive, both parents would need to carry the allele, which is not indicated here.
Step 3: Analyze the offspring of G (the daughter with discolored enamel). G has six children—four boys and two girls. Two of her boys and one of her girls have discolored enamel. This suggests that G is heterozygous for the condition, as not all her children inherit the discolored enamel trait.
Step 4: Examine the offspring of B (the son with discolored enamel). B has seven children—four girls and three boys. All four of his daughters have discolored enamel, but all his boys have normal enamel. This pattern strongly suggests that the condition is X-linked dominant, as daughters inherit the X chromosome from their father, while sons inherit the Y chromosome, which does not carry the allele for discolored enamel.
Step 5: Conclude that the inheritance pattern of severe discoloration of tooth enamel is X-linked dominant. The woman with discolored enamel likely has the dominant allele on one of her X chromosomes, which she passes to her children. This explains why her son B passes the condition to all his daughters but none of his sons, and why her daughter G, being heterozygous, passes the condition to some of her children but not all.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Autosomal Dominance and Recessiveness

In genetics, traits can be inherited in dominant or recessive patterns. A dominant trait only requires one copy of the allele to be expressed, while a recessive trait requires two copies. In this case, the discoloration of tooth enamel may be a recessive trait, as the father with normal enamel does not express the trait, suggesting he carries a normal allele.
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X-Linked Inheritance

Some traits are linked to the X chromosome, which can affect inheritance patterns, especially in males and females. Males have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. If the discoloration is X-linked, it would explain why B's daughters (who inherit his X chromosome) all have the condition, while his sons do not.
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Punnett Squares and Probability

Punnett squares are tools used to predict the probability of offspring inheriting particular traits based on the genotypes of the parents. By analyzing the genotypes of the parents in this scenario, one can determine the likelihood of their children inheriting the discoloration trait, helping to clarify the inheritance pattern observed in the children.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

In humans, hemophilia A (OMIM 306700) is an X-linked recessive disorder that affects the gene for factor VIII protein, which is essential for blood clotting. The dominant and recessive alleles for the factor VIII gene are represented by H and h. Albinism is an autosomal recessive condition that results from mutation of the gene producing tyrosinase, an enzyme in the melanin synthesis pathway. A and a represent the tyrosinase alleles. A healthy woman named Clara (II-2), whose father (I-1) has hemophilia and whose brother (II-1) has albinism, is married to a healthy man named Charles (II-3), whose parents are healthy. Charles's brother (II-5) has hemophilia, and his sister (II-4) has albinism. The pedigree is shown below.

If Clara and Charles's first child has albinism, what is the chance the second child has albinism? Explain why this probability is higher than the probability you calculated in part (b).

Textbook Question

A wild-type male and a wild-type female Drosophila with red eyes and full wings are crossed. Their progeny are shown below.

Using clearly defined allele symbols of your choice, give the genotype of each parent.

Textbook Question

A wild-type male and a wild-type female Drosophila with red eyes and full wings are crossed. Their progeny are shown below.

What is/are the genotype(s) of females with purple eye? Of males with purple eye and miniature wing?

Textbook Question

In a large metropolitan hospital, cells from newborn babies are collected and examined microscopically over a 5-year period. Among approximately 7500 newborn males, six have one Barr body in the nuclei of their somatic cells. All other newborn males have no Barr bodies. Among 7500 female infants, four have two Barr bodies in each nucleus, two have no Barr bodies, and the rest have one. What is the cause of the unusual number of Barr bodies in a small number of male and female infants?

Textbook Question

In cats, tortoiseshell coat color appears in females. A tortoiseshell coat has patches of dark brown fur and patches of orange fur that each in total cover about half the body but have a unique pattern in each female. Male cats can be either dark brown or orange, but a male cat with tortoiseshell coat is rarely produced. Two sample crosses between males and females from pure-breeding lines produced the tortoiseshell females shown.


Cross I     P: dark brown male × orange female

           F₁: orange males and tortoiseshell females

Cross II    P: orange male × dark brown female

          F₁: dark brown males and tortoiseshell females


Explain the inheritance of dark brown, orange, and tortoiseshell coat colors in cats.

Textbook Question

In cats, tortoiseshell coat color appears in females. A tortoiseshell coat has patches of dark brown fur and patches of orange fur that each in total cover about half the body but have a unique pattern in each female. Male cats can be either dark brown or orange, but a male cat with tortoiseshell coat is rarely produced. Two sample crosses between males and females from pure-breeding lines produced the tortoiseshell females shown.


Cross I     P: dark brown male × orange female

           F₁: orange males and tortoiseshell females

Cross II    P: orange male × dark brown female

           F₁: dark brown males and tortoiseshell females


Why are tortoiseshell cats female?