Use the following pedigree (Figure 14.3) for a family in which dark-shaded symbols represent individuals with one of the two major types of colon cancer. Numbers under the symbols are the individual's age at the time of diagnosis.

Figure 14.3
-From this pedigree, how does this trait seem to be inherited?

Question

Use the following pedigree (Figure 14.3) for a family in which dark-shaded symbols represent individuals with one of the two major types of colon cancer. Numbers under the symbols are the individual's age at the time of diagnosis.
  
Figure 14.3
-From this pedigree, how does this trait seem to be inherited?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The trait of colon cancer in this family seems to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. This is because affected individuals (dark-shaded symbols) are present in multiple generations and have at least one affected parent. There is no evidence to suggest that the trait is inherited from mothers or as an autosomal recessive or incomplete dominant trait. There is also no evidence to suggest that epistasis plays a role in the inheritance of this trait.

Use the Following Pedigree (Figure 14