Is the gene for sickle cell anemia more likely to be dominant or recessive?

Recessive

Recssive

To determine whether the gene for sickle cell anemia is more likely to be dominant or recessive, we need to understand the inheritance patterns of the disease. Sickle cell anemia is caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin gene, which affects the structure of the red blood cells.

In terms of inheritance, sickle cell anemia follows a recessive pattern. This means that an individual must inherit two copies of the mutated gene (one from each parent) in order to develop the disease.

To determine whether an individual will have sickle cell anemia, we need to know their genotype, which refers to the combination of genes they carry. The alleles (different forms of a gene) associated with sickle cell anemia are usually represented as "S" for the normal allele and "s" for the mutated allele.

- If an individual has two copies of the normal allele (SS genotype), they will not have sickle cell anemia.
- If an individual has one copy of the mutated allele and one copy of the normal allele (Ss genotype), they are carriers of sickle cell anemia but are usually not affected by the disease.
- If an individual has two copies of the mutated allele (ss genotype), they will have sickle cell anemia.

Since the disease is recessive, it means that the mutated allele (s) must be inherited from both parents in order to have the disease. Therefore, the gene for sickle cell anemia is more likely to be recessive.