Mendelian inheritance. Some traits of plants and animals depend on inheritance of a single gene. This is called Mendelian inheritance, after Gregor Mendel (1822–1884). Exercises 4.38 through 4.41 are based on the following information about Mendelian inheritance of blood type.
Each of us has an ABO blood type, which describes whether two characteristics, called A and B, are present. Every one of us has two blood type alleles (gene forms), one inherited from our mother and one from our father. Each of these alleles can be A, B, or O. Which two we inherit determines our blood type. Here is a table that shows what our blood type is for each combination of two alleles:
235
| Alleles inherited | Blood type |
|---|---|
| A and A | A |
| A and B | AB |
| A and O | A |
| B and B | B |
| B and O | B |
| O and O | O |
We inherit each of a parent’s two alleles with probability 0.5. We inherit independently from our mother and father.
4.39 Parents with alleles B and O. Andreona and Caleb both have alleles B and O.
(a) What blood types can their children have?
(b) What is the probability that their next child has each of these blood types?