Human blood type is determined by co-dominant alleles. There are three different alleles, know as I^a and I^b alleles are co-dominant and the i allele is recessive. The possible human phenotypes for blood group are type A, type B, type AB, or type O. Type A and B individuals can be either homozygous (I^A I^A or I^B I^B, respectively), or heterozygous (I^Ai or I^Bi, respectively), A woman with type A blood and a man with type B blood could potentially have offspring with which of the following blood types?
I am so confused.. What am I supposed to do?
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/human_bio/problem_sets/blood_types/inherited.html
see if that helps
It kind of helped.
To determine the possible blood types of the offspring, you need to consider the possible combinations of alleles inherited from each parent. In this case, the woman has type A blood, which means she can have either two I^A alleles (homozygous) or one I^A allele and one i allele (heterozygous). The man has type B blood, meaning he can have either two I^B alleles (homozygous) or one I^B allele and one i allele (heterozygous).
To find the possible blood types of their offspring, we will consider all possible combinations of alleles from both parents. Let's break it down step by step:
1. The woman's possible genotypes:
- Homozygous type A: I^A I^A
- Heterozygous type A: I^A i
2. The man's possible genotypes:
- Homozygous type B: I^B I^B
- Heterozygous type B: I^B i
Now, let's combine the possible alleles from each parent to determine the possible genotypes and blood types of their offspring:
- If the woman is homozygous type A (I^A I^A) and the man is homozygous type B (I^B I^B), their offspring can only inherit one allele from each parent. Therefore, the possible genotype of the offspring would be I^A I^B, resulting in blood type AB.
- If the woman is homozygous type A (I^A I^A) and the man is heterozygous type B (I^B i), their offspring could inherit either the I^A allele or the i allele from the woman, and either the I^B allele or the i allele from the man. Therefore, the possible genotypes of the offspring would be I^A I^B or I^A i, resulting in blood types AB or A, respectively.
- If the woman is heterozygous type A (I^A i) and the man is homozygous type B (I^B I^B), their offspring could inherit either the I^A allele or the i allele from the woman, and the I^B allele from the man. Therefore, the possible genotypes of the offspring would be I^A I^B or I^B i, resulting in blood types AB or B, respectively.
- If the woman is heterozygous type A (I^A i) and the man is heterozygous type B (I^B i), their offspring could inherit any combination of the alleles from both parents. Therefore, the possible genotypes of the offspring would be I^A I^B, I^A i, I^B i, or ii, resulting in blood types AB, A, B, or O, respectively.
In summary, the possible blood types of the offspring from a woman with type A blood and a man with type B blood are: AB, A, B, or O.