A severe disease that is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait is more likely to skip generations in a pedigree than an autosomal recessive trait that causes a harmless phenotypic variant because
A)a person with the harmless variant is less likely to reproduce than a person with the disease.
B)a person with an autosomal recessive disease is less likely to be well enough to reproduce than a person with a harmless trait variant.
C)all inborn errors of metabolism are dominant.
D)a family with an autosomal recessive disease is usually much smaller than a family with an autosomal recessive harmless trait variant.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A person with an autosomal recessive disease is less likely to be well enough to reproduce than a person with a harmless trait variant. This means that individuals with a severe disease may not have as many opportunities to pass on the recessive allele as those with a harmless trait variant, reducing the frequency of the disease in some generations. However, the recessive allele is still present in the population and can be passed on to future generations.

A Severe Disease That Is Inherited as an Autosomal Recessive