Question

Extensive pedigree analysis on a characteristic shows all of the following: •the characteristic affects males and females equally. •two unaffected parents can have an affected child. •in families in which the parents are unaffected but the children are affected, 1/4 of the children are affected.

Answer 1

The characteristic is likely inherited through autosomal recessive inheritance, affecting males and females equally. Both parents, although unaffected, are carriers of a recessive allele for the trait, and their children have a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting the trait.

Step-by-step explanation:

The details provided suggest that the characteristic in question is inherited through autosomal recessive inheritance. In this type of genetic inheritance, a trait can affect males and females equally because it's not linked to the sex chromosomes. A child can be affected even if both parents do not show the characteristic because each parent has a recessive allele for the trait. It’s only when a child inherits two copies of the recessive allele – one from each parent – that the trait is expressed. This happens in approximately 1/4 of cases when both parents are carriers of the recessive allele.

Learn more about autosomal recessive inheritance