Sex-Influenced Traits

By : Faizan Ilyas
Sex-Influenced Traits
Basic Terminologies

 Alleles : An allele or allel, is one of a

number of alternative forms of the same
gene.
 Autosomal chromosomes : The
autosomal chromosomes do not
determine the sex of offspring. Rather,
they contain many genes that code for
the production of thousands of proteins.
 Sex chromosomes : The sex
chromosomes determine the sex of
offspring. Sex chromosomes determine
whether the offspring are male or
female.
 Lipoma : A lipoma is a benign tumor of
fat cells that can cause rubbery tumors
of varying size beneath the skin.
A benign tumor is a mass of cells that
lacks the ability to invade neighboring
tissue .
 Heterozygous : The genetics term
heterozygous refers to a pair of genes
where one is dominant and one is
recessive.
 Homozygous : The genetics term
homozygous refers to a pair of genes
where both genes are dominant or both
are recessive.
 Testosterone : It is a steroid
hormone which is found in mammals,
reptiles, birds and other vertebrates. In
mammals, testosterone is secreted
primarily in the testicles of males and
the ovaries of females. It promotes
secondary sexual characteristics such
as increased muscle, bone mass, and
the growth of body hair.
Where we are heading….

 Sex-linked traits are controlled by

alleles found on the sex-chromosomes.

 Sex-influenced traits are controlled by

alleles on autosomal chromosomes.
What is a sex-influenced trait?
 A sex-influenced trait is a trait controlled by a pair
of alleles found on the autosomal chromosomes
(pairs 1 through 22) but it’s phenotypic
expression is influenced by the presence of
certain hormones.
Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, etc.
 Sex-influenced traits can be seen in BOTH
sexes, but will vary in frequency between the
sexes, or in the degree of the phenotypic
expression.
Example of Sex-Influenced Traits

 Pattern Baldness
– Pattern Baldness can occur in both males
and females, however it is much more
common in males.
– Why is this?
Because the pattern baldness trait is
influenced by the hormone testosterone.
 Pattern baldness in humans (sometimes
called “male pattern baldness,” though
the condition isn’t restricted to males).
This gene has two alleles, “bald” and
“non-bald.” The behaviors of the
products of these genes are highly
influenced by the hormones in the
individual, particularly by the hormone
testosterone.
 . In the presence of high levels of
testosterone, the baldness allele has a
very powerful influence. In the presence
of low levels of testosterone, this allele
is quite ineffectual. All humans have
testosterone, but males have much
higher levels of this hormone than
females do. The result is that in males,
the baldness allele behaves like a
dominant allele, while in females it
behaves like a recessive allele.
Sex-Influenced Traits

Male and Female Pattern Baldness

Basic Symbols
 Sex-Influenced Trait
 Assume that the trait is
dominant in males but
recessive in females.
 Assume all outsiders are
homozygotes.
 Thus:
– DD is always affected
– dd is always normal
– Dd is affected in males, but
normal in females
Pattern Baldness
 The combination of alleles for pattern
baldness will lead to different phenotypic
expressions depending on the sex of the
individual.

 For example: Let B represent the non-bald allele

- BB genotype: non-bald in both sexes
- bb genotype: bald in both sexes
- Bb genotype: bald in men; non-bald in females
Pattern Baldness

 The “B” allele acts as a dominant allele

in the heterozygous genotype in
females, but acts as a recessive allele
in the heterozygous genotype of the
male.
Pattern Baldness

 What would this bald guy’s genotype

be?
 Bb or bb

 What about his balding mother?

 bb
Try this out!

 What is the probability that YOU will be

bald if your father is homozygous and
balding, and your mother is
homozygous and not balding?
Father’s genotype: bb X Mother’s genotype: BB
All offspring are Bb
If you are a male, you will be bald! If you are a
female, you will not demonstrate pattern baldness.
 You can solve using Monohybrid
crosses

 Complete the simple cross and then express

the phenotype based on whether we are
talking about males or females.
 Ex. A heterozygous balding male reproduces
with a heterozygous normal female.
 Do the cross and determine the phenotypic
rations for males and females
Let’s try a few problems involving
sex influenced traits…
 A male homozygous for clubfoot reproduces
with a normal homozygous female. What are
the genotypes and phenotypes of their
children if testosterone alters the phenotypic
expression of the trait in the heterozygous
expression?

 Let F represent normal feet

Let f represent clubfoot.
Let’s try a few problems…

 Two heterozygous individuals get married

and have lots of children. The father suffers
with a painful condition called gout. What are
the parent’s genotypes? What are the
genotypes and phenotypes of the children?

 Let G represent no gout, and g represent

gout.
How about this one:

 Rheumatoid arthritis occurs more

often in females than males due to
the presence of estrogen. A
heterozygous woman marries a
heterozygous male. RR would cause
the condition in both sexes. A
homozygous recessive, rr, genotype
would prevent the disorder in both
sexes