CHAPTER8

SEX LINKED INHERITANCE Sex-linked I

Transmission of Traits
What Is Sex-linked Inheritance?
Sex-linked inheritance is a biological process which involves the transmission of traits or
characters from parents to offspring. X and Y are two sex chromosomes that carry alleles at
their gene loci. These traits that are being transferred from one generation to the next
generation are present on autosomes or sex chromosomes, i.e., the X chromosome or the Y
chromosome.

Sex-linked genes are located on the X chromosome result in X-linkage. Similarly, Y-linkage
refers to the gene which is present on the Y chromosome. Since females are homogametic
with XX chromosome and males have XY chromosome, the Y-linked traits are transmitted
via males only.

There are certain diseases which are linked to the X chromosome but are recessive, where
females act as a carrier if they have only one copy of defective genes, such as colour
blindness, haemophilia, etc. Males are heterozygous; hence, they are more prone to get sex-
linked disorders because only one defective copy of genes is sufficient to cause diseases.

Types of Sex-linked Inheritance

As described earlier, there are two types of sex-linked inheritance: X-linked and Y-linked
inheritance.

X-linked Inheritance
The X chromosome is larger than the Y chromosome. Any disorder or trait that is transmitted
from the X chromosome is termed an X-linked inheritance. X-linked inheritance can either be
recessive or dominant.

X-linked Recessive Inheritance X-linked Dominant Inheritance

This trait is more common in males as they contain Both males and females are affected by this type of
only one X chromosome. disorder.

Haemophilia A and haemophilia B are examples of X- Examples of X-linked dominant inheritance

linked recessive inheritance. include Incontinentia pigmenti.

Y-linked Inheritance
If the mutated gene is present in the Y chromosome, then this is referred to as Y-linked
inheritance. Since the Y chromosome is present in males only, Y-linked disorders are passed
from fathers to male offspring. Hypertrichosis (presence of long dark hair on the ears) is an
example of Y-linked inheritance.
Characteristic of Sex-linked Inheritance
 Males are more affected by sex-linked traits in comparison to females because they
are heterozygous.
 The female passes the X-linked inheritance to both son and daughter, as they are
homozygous to the X chromosome and pass the X chromosome to both offspring.

Sex-linked Inheritance Disorders

Some common examples include:

Haemophilia – It is a recessive sex-linked disorder which is also termed Bleeder’s disease. It

is the inability to clot the blood, which results in uncontrolled bleeding.

Colour blindness – Yet again, a recessive sex-linked inheritance where the affected person
fails to identify blue, red and green colours.

Q1

What is sex-linked inheritance?

Sex-linked inheritance is a biological process which involves the transmission of traits or
characters from parents to the offspring through sex chromosomes. X and Y are two sex
chromosomes that carry alleles at their gene loci. These traits that are being transferred from
one generation to the next generation are carried out in either the X chromosome or the Y
chromosome.
Q2

What is X-linked inheritance, and what are its types?

Any disorder or trait that is transmitted from the X chromosome is termed an X-linked
inheritance. X-linked inheritance can either be recessive or dominant. They are of two types,
recessive X-linked inheritance and dominant X-linked inheritance.
Q3

What are the characteristics of sex-linked inheritance?

Males are more affected by sex-linked traits in comparison to females because they are
heterozygous. The female passes the X-linked inheritance to both son and daughter, as they
are homozygous to the X chromosome and pass the X chromosome to both offspring.