What makes the gene for red hair recessive?

red hair recessive image

Matt

I have red hair and I was wondering.

Answer
Because its actually, no offence, a mutation. Red hair appears in people who have two copies of recessive gene chromosomes. So in other words you either have a family history of red heads or one of your parents is blond and the other is brunette.
http://www.blinn.edu/socialscience/ldthomas/feldman/handouts/0203hand.htm
http://pregnancy.familyeducation.com/ovulation-and-conception/slideshow/66569.html

What happens when you mix two recessive traits?

Jamie

Like how blond hair and red hair are both recessive traits. What happens when you mix them?

Answer
Kaiba is right: "recessive" is a relative term. Its just a word thats used to describe a relationship between two traits (ie. Blond hair is recessive to black hair). So, when you are dealing with blond hair versus red hair, one trait will be dominant over the other trait.

A useful analogy: Both a cat and a mouse are weaker than an elephant. But when its cat versus mouse, one of the animals will be stronger then the other. Therefore, even though BOTH animals are weaker then the elephant, the cat is stronger then the mouse.

You asked a great question :)

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: What makes the gene for red hair recessive?
Rating: 92% based on 976 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie

Thanks For Coming To My Blog