A normal woman, whose father was colour-blind is married to a normal man. The sons would be :-
A
50% colour-blind
B
All normal
C
All colour-blind
D
75% colour-blind
The answer is A.
Solution
Colour blindness is an X-linked recessive trait. Let $X^c$ carry the colour-blind allele. The woman is normal but her father was colour-blind. She received her father's $X^c$, so she is a carrier: $X^CX^c$. The normal man is $X^CY$. Cross: $X^CX^c \times X^CY$ Sons receive the Y from the father and one X from the mother: $X^CY$ (normal) or $X^cY$ (colour-blind) in a 1 : 1 ratio. Daughters: $X^CX^C$ (normal) and $X^CX^c$ (carrier); none are colour-blind. So 50% of the sons would be colour-blind.
ConceptCarrier mother and sons
Sex-linked Inheritance – Colour Blindness in past papers
3 questions from this chapter have appeared across 3 exam years.