Color blindness is more common in males than in females because
A) females need to inherit only one copy of the recessive color blindness allele to express the trait.
B) males only need to inherit the recessive maternal color blindness allele to be color blind.
C) Color blindness is an autosomal trait.
D) all females are hemizygous for the color blindness trait.
E) males can only inherit paternal color blindness alleles.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Color blindness is more common in males because it is a sex-linked trait, specifically linked to the X chromosome. Males have only one X chromosome (XY), so inheriting one copy of the recessive allele from their mother (on the X chromosome) is enough to express the trait. Females (XX) would need to inherit two copies of the allele, one from each parent, to express the trait.

Color Blindness Is More Common in Males Than in Females