Which is the most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits? (1 point)
A mutation occurred in the child's DNA that resulted in the expression of a new or "different" trait.
The most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits could be due to a rare mutation or the presence of a recessive gene. In the case of a rare mutation, it is possible that the child has acquired a new genetic variant that was not present in either parent. Alternatively, if both parents are carriers of a recessive gene, they may not exhibit the trait themselves but can pass it on to their child. In this scenario, the child would need to inherit the recessive gene from both parents to display the trait.
The most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits is the presence of a recessive allele. This can occur when both parents carry a recessive allele for the trait, but do not express it themselves.
To understand this concept, we need to understand the basics of inheritance. Traits in an organism are determined by genes, which are segments of DNA. Each gene has two alleles, which are alternative forms of the gene. The combination of alleles determines the expression of the trait.
There are two types of alleles: dominant and recessive. Dominant alleles are expressed when present in one or both copies, while recessive alleles are only expressed when present in both copies. In this case, if the child inherits a recessive allele from each parent, they will express the trait even though the parents themselves do not exhibit it.
To determine the likelihood of a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits, we can use a Punnett square. This is a simple tool used in genetics to predict the outcome of a cross between two individuals.
If neither parent exhibits the trait, it is possible that both parents are carriers of the recessive allele. In this case, they would both have one copy of the recessive allele and one copy of a dominant allele for the same gene. When they have a child, there is a 25% chance that the child will inherit the recessive allele from each parent, resulting in the expression of the trait.
Therefore, the most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits is the presence of a recessive allele that both parents carry but do not express themselves.