Understanding the Probability of Genetic Inheritance: Princess Eugenie and Prince Albert's Case
What is the chance that Princess Eugenie and Prince Albert's first child will be a normal girl?
How is the probability of having a normal girl calculated based on Princess Eugenie being a carrier for hemophilia and Prince Albert being a hemophiliac?
Probability Calculation:
The chance that Princess Eugenie and Prince Albert's first child will be a normal girl is 50%.
Princess Eugenie, who is a carrier for hemophilia, married her cousin Prince Albert, who is a hemophiliac. In this genetic scenario, the probability of their first child being a normal girl is determined by the inheritance of sex chromosomes and the hemophilia gene.
As hemophilia is an X-linked recessive disorder, Princess Eugenie has one affected X chromosome (Xh) and one normal X chromosome (X). Prince Albert, being a hemophiliac, has an affected X chromosome (Xh) and a Y chromosome (Y). The possible genotypes for their offspring are:
- XX (Carrier girl)
- XY (Normal boy)
- XhXh (Hemophiliac girl)
- XhY (Hemophiliac boy)
Out of these combinations, only the first one (XX) indicates a carrier girl, who is considered normal since carriers usually do not exhibit symptoms. Therefore, the chance that Princess Eugenie and Prince Albert's first child will be a normal girl is 50%.
To dive deeper into the genetic probability involved in this scenario, it is critical to understand the inheritance patterns of X-linked recessive disorders and how they impact the likelihood of different outcomes in offspring. By analyzing the genotypes of potential children, we can calculate the probability of having a normal girl in this specific case.