Final answer:
The mother was a carrier of the X-linked recessive colorblind gene, which was passed to the child with Klinefelter Syndrome. Non-disjunction could have occurred in either the mother or the father. Males are more affected by color-blindness due to having only one X chromosome.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cause of color blindness in the child with Klinefelter Syndrome can be traced back to the mother, who is a carrier of the X-linked recessive colorblind gene. She inherited this gene from her color-blind father. Since the father of the child has normal vision and the mother has normal vision as well but is a carrier, her X chromosome carrying the colorblind gene was passed down to their child.
As for the non-disjunction resulting in Klinefelter Syndrome, it occurred either in the maternal meiosis, where two X chromosomes failed to separate, leading to an XXX egg that, when fertilized with a Y sperm, resulted in a XXY individual; or in the paternal meiosis, where a XY sperm was formed due to a non-disjunction and then fertilized an XX egg. Klinefelter Syndrome is characterized by the presence of an extra X chromosome in males, most commonly an XXY karyotype.
Color-blindness affects many more males than females because they have only one X chromosome. Females must inherit two color-blind alleles to express the condition. Thus, the pedigree for color blindness generally shows that unaffected daughter s could be carriers, but the affected son s are much more likely due to the male's single X chromosome.