Sex Related Inheritance

Teresa Eliezel J. Borja

Sex Related Inheritance
• The transmission to successive generations of
traits that are due to alleles at
gene loci on a sex chromosome.
• Involves genes located on either the X or Y
chromosome. Females can be homozygous or
heterozygous for genes carried on the X
chromosomes; males can only hemizygous.
Autosomal Genes and Reciprocal crosses
•Gene located on any chromosome other
than the sex chromosome (X or Y).
•Genes are made up of DNA and control
the transmission of heredity
characteristics.
Reciprocal Crosses
•Is a breeding experiment designed to test
the role of parental sex on a given
inheritance pattern.
Sex Linked Genes
The Xs and Ys of
Genetics
What is Sex Linkage?
• In addition to their role in determining sex, the sex
chromosomes have genes for many characters.
• Genes located on a sex chromosome are called sex linked
genes.
• In humans the term usually refers to X-linked characters:
genes located only on X chromosomes.
• Fathers can pass X-linked alleles to their daughters, but
not sons.
• Mothers can pass sex-linked alleles to both sons and
daughters.
Sex Linked Genes
• There are 23 pairs of
chromosomes and one
of those pairs are the
sex chromosomes.
• There are either X
chromosomes or Y
chromosomes.
Sex Linked Genes
• These chromosomes • Genes that are carried
not only carry the by either sex
genes that determine chromosome (X or Y)
male and female traits, are said to be SEX
but also those for LINKED
some other
characteristics as well.
Males
• Men normally have an X
and a Y combination of
sex chromosomes.
• Since only men inherit
the Y chromosome, they
are the only ones that
inherit Y-linked traits.
Females

•Women have 2 X
chromosomes
X Linked Traits
• Men and Women can get
the X-linked traits since
both inherit X
chromosomes.
Sex inheritance patterns for male and female
children
X Chromosome Traits
• Men only have one X
chromosome
• Therefore genes on that
chromosome are expressed in
the male phenotype, even if it is
a recessive gene.
X-linked traits
•In women, a • May have a dominant
recessive allele on normal allele on the
one x chromosome other carriers of X-
is often masked on linked traits but more
rarely have them
their phenotype
expressed in their own
phenotypes
X-linked traits
• In humans, at least 120
genes are known to be X-
linked.
• Genes for hemophilia,
red-green color
blindness, congenital
night blindness, and
Duchene muscular
dystrophy
Recessive alleles
• If a sex linked trait is due to a recessive allele:
• A female will express the phenotype only if she is
homozygous recessive.
• If a male receives the recessive allele from his mother he
will express the phenotype.
• Far more males have disorders that are inherited as
sex linked recessives than females.
• Examples: Colour blindness
Haemophilia
Hemophilia
• An X-linked genetically
inherited recessive
disease
• Can not clot their blood
• Severe bleeding from
minor cuts
• Mostly in males
Red-Green Color Blindness
• X chromosome has a locus for colour vision with two alleles:
• XN = Normal colour vision
• Xn = Red-green colour blindness
• Y chromosome does not have a colour vision locus.
• If a male receives the Xn allele he will have impaired colour
vision, whereas a female with XNXn will not.
• X-linked
• Cannot perceive red and green in the same
• Most often afflicts males
Red-green colour blindness
Parental
Phenotypes Carrier Female x Normal Male
Genotypes XNXn XNY
Gametes X N X n X N Y

Female Gametes
Offspring 1
XN Xn
Genotypes
Male XN XN XN XN Xn
Gametes
Y XN Y Xn Y
Phenotypes
Normal Female : Carrier Female : Normal Male : Colour blind Male
1 : 1 : 1 : 1
Muscular Dystrophy (MD)
• Characterized by a gradual irreversible wasting
away of skeletal muscle.
• An X-linked trait most often passed on to sons
from their mothers.
• Begins to weaken the legs of boys by age 3 and
gets worse every year.
• No cure and inflicted usually die by age 30.
Y-linked Traits
•The Y chromosome is small and
therefore does not contain many genes
•Y linked diseases are very rare
•Only passed from father to son.
•Example: Male infertility
Hypertrichosis Pinnae.
•Hairy ears
•Can happen
later in life.
•Y-linked
Chromosomal Sex-Determination
Systems
•ZZ-ZW system:
•ZZ – male
•ZW – female

Examples: Birds, snakes, butterflies, some

amphibians, and fishes
Sex – Influenced Traits
• Traits controlled by autosomal genes that are
usually dominant in one sex but recessive in the
other sex.
E.g. Pattern Baldness
- Acts like and autosomal traits in males and
autosomal recessive trait in females.
Sex –Limited Traits
• Sex- limited traits are generally autosomal,
which means they are not found on the X or Y
chromosomes
• The sex limited traits are expressed in only one
gender.
• Milk production in mammals