Inheritance Patterns
Autosomal recessive traits are transmitted to both sexes and both males and females can be carriers. Because the gene is recessive, affected persons (who are homozygous for the gene) typically have parents and offspring who are unaffected (heterozygous) carriers. If the trait is rare, affected people often result from consanguineous mating since two persons with a rare gene (the parents) are more likely to be blood relatives.
Examples of this pattern of inheritance include cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs disease.
See Figure 1-7.
| Inheritance Patterns
| Autosomal Recessive Pattern |