Sex-Linked Inheritance Problem Set

Problem 10: Offspring of human females who are carriers for X-linked traits

Tutorial to help answer the question

A human female "carrier" who is heterozygous for the recessive, sex-linked trait red color blindness, marries a normal male.

What proportion of their female progeny will show the trait?

Tutorial

Genotypes and phenotypes of parents

The eggs of the mother will contain either a normal X chromosome or an X chromosome with the mutation causing red-green color blindness
(i.e. She is a "carrier".)

The sperm of the father will contain either the normal X chromosome or the Y chromosome.

Genotypes and phenotypes of offspring

The eggs of the mother will contain either a normal X chromosome or an X chromosome with the mutation causing red-green color blindness (i.e. She is a "carrier").

The sperm of the father will contain either the normal X chromosome or the Y chromosome.

The Biology Project
University of Arizona
Updated: July 15, 1999
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