Question

At position 9, Mr. and Mrs. Flynn are concerned because their new baby doesn't resemble either of them and has type O blood. Mr. Flynn is type A, and Mrs. Flynn is type B. They're sure that it's impossible to have a baby with a different blood type than the parents, and so they conclude that a mistake has been made. Are they correct? Explain your answer. Be specific. Use the correct blood alleles (IA, IB, i) in your explanation.

Answer 1

No, Mr. and Mrs. Flynn are not correct. The ABO blood type system is determined by three alleles: IA, IB, and i. When two parents with blood types A and B have children, their offspring can inherit any of the four possible ABO blood types: A, B, AB, or O.

Step-by-step explanation:

No, Mr. and Mrs. Flynn are not correct in their conclusion. The ABO blood type system is determined by three alleles: IA, IB, and i. The A and B alleles are both dominant to the O allele. When two parents with blood types A and B have children, their offspring can inherit any of the four possible ABO blood types: A, B, AB, or O.

In this case, Mr. Flynn has blood type A (genotype AA or AO) and Mrs. Flynn has blood type B (genotype BB or BO). Since both Mr. and Mrs. Flynn carry the O allele, there is a possibility that their child can inherit the O allele from both parents, resulting in blood type O. Therefore, it is not a mistake, and their baby having type O blood is within the realm of possibility.

It is important to remember that multiple alleles, dominance, and recessiveness influence the inheritance of ABO blood types. The A and B alleles are codominant, meaning they can both be expressed in individuals with the genotype IAIB, resulting in blood type AB. The O allele is recessive and requires two copies to produce blood type O.