KINDS OF SEX-RELATED INHERITANCE

Remember this movie character?

Have you watched
this feature docu on
KMJS where a 29-
year-old man
menstruates?
Introduction

• Normally, women can’t grow that amount of facial hair and men
can’t experience a menstrual cycle.
• That is because some traits are limited to one’s sex.
• The expression of certain traits depends on whether one is male or
female.
• Apparently, the expression of the traits is determined by or related
to one’s sex.
Chromosomes and Sex Determination
Chromosomes

• Chromosome, the
microscopic threadlike part of
the cell that
carries hereditary information
in the form of genes.
 Chromosomes
Humans have a total of 46 chromosomes in each cell.

23 pairs for both males and females

first 22 pairs are somatic the 23rd pair is the sex

or non-sex chromosomes chromosomes

XY XX
males females
Chromosomes

• Males have 44 body chromosomes and two sex chromosomes X

and Y. The males determine the sex of their children.
• Females have 44 body chromosomes and two sex chromosomes,
both X.
• The total number in each cell of an individual is 46. These
chromosomes contain the genes, which are the factors of heredity.
Sex Determination

• If an egg is fertilized by a sperm with a Y chromosome, the

offspring is male.
• If an egg is fertilized by a sperm carrying an X chromosome, the
offspring is female.
• There is a 50 percent chance of having a male or female offspring.
• The greater the number of offspring, the greater is the chance of
getting the expected 1:1 ratio of male and female.
Sex-Linked Genes
Sex-Linked Genes

• Genes located on the X

chromosomes are called X-
linked genes; genes
located on the Y
chromosomes are called Y-
linked genes.
• Most known sex-linked
traits are X-linked (carried
on the X chromosome).
This is probably because
the X chromosome is much
larger than the Y
chromosome.
Sex-Linked Genes
• Some sex-linked traits are associated with disorders.
• Most are found on the X chromosome, Y-linked disorders are rare.
• Sex-linked traits are inherited through the X-chromosomes.
• Males have only one X chromosome. Thus, if they inherit the
affected X, they will have the disorder.
• Females have two X chromosomes. Therefore, they can
inherit/carry the trait without being affected if it acts in a recessive
manner.
Sex-Linked Genes

• Below are examples of sex-linked disorders:

1. Hemophilia
2. Color-blindness
3. Night blindness
4. Myopia
5. Male pattern baldness

color-blind celebs
Hemophilia

• It is usually an inherited
bleeding disorder in
which the blood does not
clot properly.
• A person suffering from
hemophilia could die
from blood loss even
from a small wound
because the blood either
clots very slowly or
doesn’t clot at all.
• An X-linked trait
HEMOPHILIA Phenotypes Genotypes
DISORDER

normal male XHY

affected male, affected

XhY, XhXh
female

normal female XHXH

carrier female XhXH

HEMOPHILIA

• Solve the following problems:

1.Hemophilia is a disease caused by a gene found on the X
chromosome. Therefore, it is referred to as a sex-linked disease. The
recessive allele causes the disease. A man with hemophilia marries a
woman that is homozygous dominant for the trait. Illustrate using
the Punnett square the probability that their children will have the
disease.
2. A normal man marries a normal female but carrier of the gene.
Illustrate using the Punnett square the probability that their children
will have the disease.
 Color-blindness

Color blindness occurs when you are unable to see colors in a normal
way. It is also known as color deficiency. Color blindness often
happens when someone cannot distinguish between certain colors.
This usually happens between greens and reds, and occasionally blues.
Also an X-linked trait.
Genotype Phenotype
1. X X Normal female
2. X XC Normal female, carrier of the gene
3. XC XC Color-blind female
4. X Y Normal male
5. XC Y Color-blind male
Color-blindness

• Color-blindness is recessive in females. If a female has

only one X chromosome with the allele for color-
blindness, she becomes normal but can pass on the trait to
her offspring. She is therefore, a carrier of the trait. Since
males have only one X chromosome, the gene for color-
blindness when present in the male, will always be
expressed because it does not have an allele to hide or
prevent its expression. Thus, the male will be color-blind.
This is the reason why color-blindness is more common in
males than in females.
Color-blindness
Let’s Practice!

1. What is the probability of a producing a non color-blind

child whose father is color-blind and whose mother is non
color-blind but a carrier of the gene? What is the sex of the
non color-blind offspring?
2. A man has normal vision. What are the chances that his
sons will have normal vision if he is married to a woman
who is color-blond. What are the chances that their
daughters will have normal vision?
Y- LINKED GENES (HOLANDRIC TRAITS)

• Genes on the Y chromosomes are called Y-linked genes.

• An example of Y-linked trait is hypertrichosis pinnae
auris, a genetic disorder in humans that causes hairy ears.
Since the trait is found in the Y chromosome, then only
males can have the trait. A father who has the condition
will pass it on to all his sons, and they in turn, will pass it
on to their own sons have the trait.
Sex-Limited Traits
Sex-Limited Traits
• Sex-limited traits are those that are expressed in only one
gender (exclusively in one sex).
• These traits are autosomal. This means the genes for such
traits are not carried by the sex chromosomes(not found on
the X or Y chromosomes).
• The traits are present in both sexually producing individual
but are expressed in only one sex and seemingly turned off
in other. The expression of trait is due to anatomical and
physiological reason.
• In cattle for instance, lactation is expressed in females but
never in males. Both male and female cattle however possess
gene pair for lactation. The gene for lactation (L) is dominant
over the non-lactating gene (l).
Sex-Limited Traits

Breastfeeding of mammals Growth of beard and mustache in male

humans
Sex-Limited Traits
Sex-Influenced Traits
Sex-Influenced Traits

• Sex-influenced traits are expressed in both sexes but more

frequently in one than in the other sex.
• One classic example of a sex-influenced trait is pattern
baldness in humans, though the condition is not restricted
to males. This gene has two alleles, bald and non-bald. The
behaviors of the products of these genes are highly
influenced by the hormones in the individual,
particularly by the hormone testosterone. All humans
have testosterone, but males have much higher levels of this
hormone than females do. The result is that, in males, the
baldness allele behaves like a dominant allele, while in
females it behaves like a recessive allele.
Pattern Baldness in Humans
Pattern Baldness in Humans
PEDIGREE
• A pedigree is a chart that shows the family history and illustrates
how a trait is inherited over several generations.
• A pedigree analysis helps determine the chances of passing a trait
to offspring.
• In pedigree analysis, males are represented as squares while
females are circles. A horizontal line between a male and female
indicates mating or marriage while vertical lines indicate
offspring. A shaded individual indicates the expression of the trait
being considered. Carriers refer to individuals who are
heterozygous for the inherited trait but do not express it. The
carriers, however, can pass the allele of the trait to their children.