Sex-Linked Inheritance

Gene Spy
Genetic counselors help prospective parents determine the probability of
their children being born with a genetic disorder. In this activity, you will
act as a genetic counselor for a couple with a family history of
hemophilia who wish to start a family. Hemophilia, like other sex-linked
traits, is determined by a gene on the sex chromosome and shows a different
pattern of inheritance in males than in females.
The possible sex-linked genotypes are as follows:
Unaffected women = XR XR or
Unaffected men = XRY
XR Xr
Affected men = XrY

Affected women = Xr Xr

1. A genetic counselor begins with what is known about his or her current
clients. In this case, your male client HAS hemophilia.
This means that the mans genotype is _____XrY_______
2. The female client does not display the symptoms of hemophilia.
However, because she was adopted, you know nothing of her genetic
history and cannot be sure of her genotype.
This means that the womans genotype is __
______XRXr_________.

XRXR_

or

3. Using the space below, your next task is to use Punnett squares to
determine all possible genotype outcomes for this couples future
children (the F1 generation). Since you dont know exactly what the
mothers genotype is, you will have to complete two different Punnett
square, one for each possibility.
XR

XR

Xr

Xr
XRXr

XR

Xr

XRXr

XrXr

XRY

XrY

XRXr

XRYXRY

4. Use the results from question #3 to complete this table.

Mothers Genotype

What percentage are

female AND affected?

What percentage are

male AND affected?

Homozygous
Dominant

0%

0%

Heterozygous

25%

25%

Analyze and Conclude

5. After talking with the couple, they decide that the risk of their children
having hemophilia is not great enough to cause them to reconsider
starting a family. Four years later you find out that their first child a
girl does not display any signs of hemophilia. However, their second
child a boy is born with the disorder. What does this information
now tell you about the mothers genotype? Explain your answer.

The mother is heterozygous for the trait. This is like this because if she was
homozygous dominant for the trait then none of the children would have
been affected.
6. What are the chances that the couples daughter is a carrier for the
disease? How do you know?
100% because her father is affected and he can only pass Xr to his
daughter.
7. If the daughter is a carrier for hemophilia and marries a nonhemophiliac man, could any of her daughters have hemophilia? Her
sons? Construct a Punnett square and make a prediction on what you
find out.
XR

Xr

XRXR

XrXR

XRY

XrY

XR
Y

8. In a population, 1 in 10,000 males will have hemophilia compared to

only 1 in 1,000,000 females. Explain why this is so.
Girls have two chromosomes. Boys have an X and Y chromosome. The
trait that causes hemophilia is carried on the X chromosome. Girls that

are affected by hemophilia must have a father who is affected as well.

Boys only have to have a mother who is at least a carrier of hemophilia
to possibly be affected.