NAEP Science Grade 12

Category - Biology

In humans, the allele for red-green colorblindness is sex-linked and recessive. For a colorblind female, which of the following statements must be true?
  1. Her mother is colorblind.
  2. Both parents carry the allele for colorblindness.
  3. Her father has normal vision.
  4. Her mother has normal vision, but is a carrier for colorblindness.
Explanation
Correct Response: B. Since colorblindness is sex-linked and recessive, a female must receive two alleles for the trait to be expressed, one from the X-chromosome of the biological mother, and one from the X-chromosome of the biological father (B). A sex-linked trait is carried on the X-chromosome. Since a male has only one X-chromosome, and this father passed down the trait to his daughter, his X- chromosome must carry the trait; therefore, he is colorblind, so (C) cannot be true. A female has two X- chromosomes, of which only one is passed on to her child. Since the daughter received an X- chromosome that carried the trait from her mother, the mother could have been colorblind (A), or a heterozygote carrier (D), but it cannot be determined from the information given which genotype is true in this case
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