Final answer:
A daughter from a mother who is homozygous for a recessive X-linked trait will be a carrier of that trait. Sons are more likely to express such X-linked recessive traits, while daughters carry the gene. For non-sex-linked traits with a family history like cancer, there is no inherent gender predisposition for inheritance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question focuses on which trait a human mother's daughter is most likely to inherit. In the context of X-linked genetic traits, if a woman exhibits a recessive X-linked trait, this means she is homozygous for that trait, possessing two copies of the recessive allele on the X chromosome.
Such a female parent will pass the recessive allele on to all of her offspring. Based on the principles of human genetics drawn from fruit fly genetics studies, a son receiving this recessive allele will manifest the trait because he will inherit his father's Y chromosome.
As for the daughters, they will at least be carriers if the father does not contribute a recessive allele. This indicates that daughters will not necessarily exhibit the trait unless they are homozygous for the recessive allele (inheriting one from each parent).
In the case of conditions like color blindness, hemophilia, and muscular dystrophy which are X-linked recessive disorders, a daughter is more likely to be a carrier than affected, whereas sons have a higher chance of exhibiting the trait.
When considering diseases with a family history such as cancer, as discussed in the case study presented, both sons and daughters have a risk of inheriting predispositions to such diseases, although these are not typically linked to sex chromosomes but rather various genetic factors that might include mutations in autosomal genes. Each child has a 50% chance of inheriting a particular allele from each parent for non-sex-linked traits.
In conclusion, whether a daughter will express a trait or be a carrier depends on whether the trait is autosomal or X-linked, and on the genotypes of both parents.