A Deadly

Inheritance

How researchers identified a mysterious genetic

disorder, and their risky effort to develop a cure.

◆ (^) Interpret a human pedigree to determine whether a given condition is recessive,
dominant, or sex-linked.
◆ (^) Review a human karyotype to identify the sex chromosomes and any abnormalities in
chromosome number.
◆ (^) Diagram a chromosome, identifying genes, alleles, and loci.
◆ (^) Explain how sex is genetically determined in humans, and how sex determination
relates to the inheritance of sex-linked traits.
◆ (^) Describe the genotype and phenotype of a “genetic carrier” and use this term
appropriately for sex-linked traits only.
◆ (^) Compare and contrast the inheritance of recessive, dominant, and sex-linked genetic
disorders.
◆ (^) Calculate the probability of inheriting a particular genetic disorder by using a
Punnett square.
After reading this chapter you should be able to: