Question

Sickle cell anemia is a recessive disorder. Under what circumstances will this condition manifest in a child?

a) If the child is a male and its mother has the recessive allele
b) If the child is a female and its father has the recessive allele
c) If the child is a female and its mother has the recessive allele
d) If the child is a male and its father has the recessive allele

Answer 1

Sickle cell anemia will manifest in a child under the following circumstances: If the child is a female and its mother has the recessive allele. (option c is the correct answer)

Step-by-step explanation:

Sickle cell anemia is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation in the HBB gene. The gene responsible for this disorder is located on an autosome, a non-sex chromosome.

To express the disorder, an individual must inherit two copies of the recessive allele – one from each parent. In option c, if the child is female and its mother has the recessive allele, there is a 50% chance of inheriting the allele from the mother. As females have two X chromosomes, inheriting the recessive allele from the mother will manifest in sickle cell anemia.

Sickle cell anemia in a child occurs when the child is female, and its mother carries the recessive allele, emphasizing the importance of understanding the inheritance pattern for genetic disorders.