Albinism occurs when individuals carry 2 recessive alleles a

Albinism occurs when individuals carry 2 recessive alleles (aa) that interfere with the production of melanin, the pigment that colors hair, skin, and eyes.If an albino child is born to 2 individuals with normal pigment, what is the genotype of each parent?

Mother’s genotype___________             Father’s genotype____________

Solution

If an albino child is born to 2 individuals with normal pigment,the genotype of parents is:

Mother’s genotype:Aa Father’s genotype:Aa

In each heterozygous parent,about half of the parents carry the dominant normal allele A and half carry the recessive allele a for albinism.

The child with genotype aa has albinism that interferes with the production of melanin.