A woman carrying one haemophilia allele marries an unaffected man. Their sons have a probability of being affected of:
A0
B1/2
C1/4
D1
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. 1/2
1. Write the mother as X^H X^h and the father as X^H Y.
2. The mother passes either X^H or X^h, each with probability 1/2.
3. A son receives the Y from his father, so his single X comes from his mother.
4. So half of the sons receive X^h and, having no second X to mask it, are affected.
5. The probability among sons is therefore 1/2. Across all children it would be 1/4, which is the value often given by mistake.
_Source: NECTA ACSEE 2023 Biology 133/2, Question 4: Genetics_
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