Question

You are examining a human pedigree for a trait. you notice that the trait appears in every generation; is equally likely to occur in males and females; and, when one parent is affected, about half of his or her offspring are affected. the trait is most likely:

Answer 1

The trait in question is most likely autosomal dominant as it appears in every generation, affects males and females equally, and when one parent is affected, about half of the offspring are affected.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you are examining a human pedigree and notice that the trait appears in every generation, is equally likely to occur in males and females, and, when one parent is affected, about half of his or her offspring are affected, these characteristics suggest that the trait is most likely inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion.

With autosomal dominant inheritance, you would expect to see the trait in every generation, as it takes only one copy of the dominant allele to express the trait. Both sexes are equally likely to be affected because the trait is not linked to the X or Y chromosomes, and typically, if one parent is affected and the other is not, approximately half of the offspring would display the trait.

This differs from X-linked recessive traits, which tend to appear more frequently in males than females, because males have only one X chromosome. Moreover, these traits would not necessarily appear in every generation, particularly if the trait is being carried by heterozygous females who do not express the phenotype.

Answer 2

Answer: You are examining a human pedigree for a trait. you notice that the trait appears in every generation; is equally likely to occur in males and females; and, when one parent is affected, about half of his or her offspring are affected. the trait is most likely be "dominant".