Question

Suppose the fictional condition lycanthropy is an autosomal dominant disorder that causes an affected person to have a strong physical reaction to the changing lunar cycle. Most cases of lycanthropy are due to spontaneous new mutations in the gametes of normal individuals. These new cases are due to a spontaneous mutation that occurs in paternal gametes, as opposed to maternal gametes. Additionally, the likelihood of this mutation occurring increases as the father ages. Which of the following statements represent a related hypothesis for these findings?

a) Sperm undergo more mitotic cellular divisions than egg and therefore have a higher risk of developing a spontaneous mutation.
b) The average somatic mutation rate is higher in males than in females, therefore sperm have more mutations than eggs.
c) The mutation for lycanthropy may confer a benefit to the sperm, increasing the chance of survival when compared to a normal sperm.
d) The gene involved in lycanthropy may be in a mutational hotspot.

Answer 1

Option A

Step-by-step explanation:

Sperm undergo more mitotic cellular divisions than egg and therefore have a higher risk of developing a spontaneous mutation.

As noted from the explanation given above...in the process of development in males, the sperm cells always undergo many mitotic cellular division throughout their life increasimg the males' chances of undergoing spontaneous mutations as compared to the females during development where it gets to a certain point in their lives where they stop producing egg cells after the once division.

Thus, the continuous divisions undergone by the sperm cells acquire more spontaneous mutations on the cell that produces this lycantrophy trait.