Name: inheritance risk with sum and product rules
Uploaded: 2019-03-11T09:21:16.000Z
Duration: 1 min 49 s
Channel: JoVE

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Heredity- Inheritance and Variation of Traits

LS.Bio.7.2

Probability Laws

The sum and product rules of probability are used to determine someone&#39;s likelihood of exhibiting a trait.

For example, if an expectant woman&#39;s family tree demonstrates a disease, like biotinidase deficiency, her and her partners probability of being carriers of the recessive biotinidase deficiency allele determines their child&#39;s risk of having that disorder.

Here, the woman&#39;s pedigree shows an afflicted brother but unaffected parents, who must be heterozygous

A punnet square shows the woman could by homozygous for the normal allele or have inherited the disease allele from her mother or father. The homozygous recessive option is discounted. Since there are two ways she could be a carrier, both with probabilities of one in three, the sum of their probabilities is the likelihood she&#39;s heterozygous, the sum rule.

Conversely, the father&#39;s probability is one in 120, as this is the likelihood a random individual is heterozygous.

Both expectant parents must be carriers, probabilities of two out of three and one out of 120 and pass along the disease allele, a probability of one in four, so the likelihood their child has biotinidase deficiency is the product of these probabilities, approximately 0.14%, the product rule.

This is the calculated theoretical probability yet some couples may only have children with biotinidase deficiency, an observed empirical probability of 100%. However, if many pedigrees were studied, these probabilities would match.

probability laws

<h4>Overview</h4>

The probability of inheriting a trait can be calculated using the sum and product rules. The sum rule is used to calculate the probability of mutually exclusive events. The product rule predicts the probability of multiple independent events. These probability rules determine theoretical probability&mdash;the likelihood of events occurring before they happen. Empirical probability, by contrast, is calculated based on events that have already occurred.

<h4>The Sum and Product Rules Are Leveraged to Calculate Inheritance Probabilities</h4>

Although Punnett squares are useful for visualizing the inheritance of one or two traits, they become cumbersome when applied to more complex scenarios. A Punnett square displaying just three traits contains 64 possible crosses. Probability laws enable much more efficient calculations of trait inheritance probabilities.

Consider a pregnant woman who wants to understand her child&rsquo;s risk of inheriting biotinidase deficiency (BTD), an autosomal recessive disease that runs in her family. Infants with untreated BTD exhibit developmental delays, poor muscle tone, skin rashes, and hair loss. Severe cases are associated with seizures and loss of vision and hearing, among other symptoms. Neither the woman nor her parents have BTD, but her brother is affected, meaning that both parents must have one causal gene variant (i.e., both parents are heterozygotes, or carriers).

The probability of the woman&rsquo;s child inheriting BTD is contingent on whether the woman is a carrier, possessing one causal allele. Since BTD is autosomal recessive and she is unaffected, she cannot have two causal alleles. However, she may carry one causal allele that could be passed to her child.

The first step toward ascertaining the child&rsquo;s risk is to determine the likelihood of the mother being a carrier. This is achieved using the sum rule of probability. The sum rule states that the probability of mutually exclusive events is the sum of their individual probabilities. In this case, mutually exclusive events are possible parental allele combinations the pregnant woman may have inherited. Since both of her parents are heterozygotes (Bb genotype), she has one of four possible genotypes: paternal B and maternal B (BB), paternal B and maternal b (Bb), maternal B and paternal b (Bb), or paternal b and maternal b (bb). Since she doesn&rsquo;t have BTD, the bb genotype can be ruled out. There are thus three possible genotypes with equal probabilities of 1/3, and two of these result in being a carrier (Bb). Hence, according to the sum rule, her probability of being a carrier is 2/3 (1/3 + 1/3).

Another critical factor in the child&rsquo;s risk of BTD is the father&rsquo;s probability of being a carrier. Here, the product rule comes into play. The product rule states that the probability of multiple independent events is the product of the events&rsquo; individual probabilities. If the mother is a carrier, this does not influence whether the father is a carrier. Thus, they are independent events.

For the child to inherit BTD, multiple independent events must occur. First, the mother must be a carrier (2/3 probability). Second, the father must be a carrier. If the father is unaffected and has no family history of BTD, his probability of being a carrier is considered equivalent to that of the general population (1/120). Third, the child must inherit the recessive allele from both parents (1/4 probability if both parents are carriers). According to the product rule, the child&rsquo;s risk of inheriting BTD is the product of each of these probabilities: (2/3) x (1/120) x (1/4) = ~0.0014, or about 0.14%.

<h4>Theoretical and Empirical Probabilities Are Respectively Calculated before and after Events</h4>

The child&rsquo;s 0.14% risk of BTD, a prediction calculated before birth, is a theoretical probability. It is possible, however, that the child and his or her siblings will inherit BTD, representing an empirical probability of 100%. Unlike theoretical probabilities, which are calculated before events have occurred, empirical probabilities are based on observations. When analyzing single pedigrees, theoretical and empirical probabilities may be very different. However, as more pedigrees are analyzed, theoretical and empirical probabilities become increasingly aligned.

Overview

The probability of inheriting a trait can be calculated using the sum and product rules. The sum rule is used to calculate the probability of ...

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KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

inheritance risk with sum and product rules

Inheritance risk can be calculated with the sum rule and the product rule. The sum rule applies to mutually exclusive events, or events that cannot happen at the same time. The product rule applies to independent events, or events that do not affect one another. These rules describe theoretical probability, which is the chance of an event before it happens. Empirical probability is different because it is based on events that have already occurred.

These probability rules are useful in genetics because Punnett squares can become too large for complex crosses. A Punnett square for three traits already has 64 possible crosses. Probability laws make it easier to estimate how a trait may be inherited. They can also be used to follow the chance of an autosomal recessive disease such as biotinidase deficiency, or BTD.

BTD can cause developmental delays, poor muscle tone, skin rashes, and hair loss if it is not treated. Severe cases can also involve seizures and loss of vision and hearing. In the example from the transcript, a pregnant woman is trying to estimate her child’s risk because her brother has BTD. Since her parents do not have the disease but have an affected child, both parents must be carriers, which means they are heterozygotes with one causal gene variant.

The first step is to find the woman’s chance of being a carrier. Because BTD is autosomal recessive and she is unaffected, she cannot have two causal alleles. Her possible genotypes from two carrier parents are BB, Bb, Bb, or bb. The bb genotype can be ruled out, so three outcomes remain, each with a probability of 1/3. Two of those outcomes make her a carrier, so the sum rule gives her a carrier probability of 2/3.

Next, the father’s carrier chance must be considered. If the father is unaffected and has no family history of BTD, his carrier probability is treated as the same as that of the general population, or 1/120. This step uses the product rule because the mother’s carrier status does not change the father’s carrier status. The child must inherit the recessive allele from both parents, which has a probability of 1/4 if both parents are carriers. Multiplying these values gives a BTD risk of about 0.14%.

That 0.14% estimate is a theoretical probability because it is calculated before birth. If a child or siblings actually inherit BTD, that is an empirical result because it is based on observation after the event. When only one pedigree is examined, theoretical and empirical probability may differ a lot. As more pedigrees are studied, the two values tend to become closer.

Inheritance Risk with Sum and Product Rules

genetic lingo

Genotype, Phenotype, and Inheritance

Genotype, phenotype, and inheritance help explain how traits and disease risk are passed from parents to offspring. In diploid organisms, including humans, most other animals, and many plants, somatic cells carry a duplicate set of chromosomes. These chromosome pairs are homologous, with similar length, centromere position, and gene locations. Diploid organisms inherit two versions of each gene, one from each parent. These versions are called alleles, and they sit at the same relative locus,...

punnett squares

Punnett Squares for Predicting Traits

Punnett squares help predict which traits offspring may inherit from two parents. They show possible genotypes, which are pairs of alleles, and can also show the chance of a phenotype, or visible trait, when the inheritance pattern is known. These grids work best for traits controlled by a single gene locus and passed on independently during meiosis. Punnett squares were developed in the early 1900s by Reginald Punnett. His work came after Gregor Mendel’s pea plant experiments revealed the...

monohybrid crosses

Mendel’s Pea Plant Inheritance Ratios

Gregor Mendel used pea plants to study how traits are passed from parents to offspring. His breeding experiments in the 1850s and 1860s showed that inheritance follows clear patterns. He crossed true-breeding plants that differed in one trait and found that dominant traits can hide recessive traits. Mendel focused on seven pea plant traits, and each trait had two forms controlled by a single gene locus. He noticed that true-breeding plants always produced offspring with the same phenotype, or...

dihybrid crosses

Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment

Mendel’s law of independent assortment explains how two traits can be inherited separately. Gregor Mendel tested this idea with pea plants that differed in two characteristics, such as pea color and pea shape. He used true-breeding parents that were homozygous for both traits but showed different phenotypes. In one example, Mendel crossed round, yellow peas with wrinkled, green peas. The parental generation had RRYY and rryy genotypes. Their first-generation offspring were all dihybrids,...

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Mendel’s Pea Cross Ratios

Mendel’s pea plant crosses show how traits can disappear in one generation and return in the next. When he crossed plants, one parental trait sometimes seemed to vanish in the F1 generation and reappear in the F2 generation. Mendel used this pattern to explain why some traits are dominant and others are recessive. He proposed that traits are controlled by alleles, which are different versions of a gene. An organism inherits two copies of each gene, one from each parent. In his model, a...

Inheritance risk can be calculated with the sum rule and the product rule. The sum rule applies to mutually exclusive events, or events that cannot happen at the same time. The product rule applies to independent events, or events that do not affect one another. These rules describe theoretical probability, which is the chance of an event before it happens. Empirical probability is different because it is based on events that have already occurred. These probability rules are useful in...

law of independent assortment

Mendel’s Dihybrid Cross and Trait Ratios

Mendel’s dihybrid cross shows how two traits are inherited at the same time. A dihybrid cross is a cross in which both parents are homozygous for two distinct traits, and the F1 generation is heterozygous for both traits. Mendel used pea plants with round yellow peas and wrinkled green peas as an example. One parent had genotype YYRR, and the other had genotype yyrr. In the F1 generation, every plant showed the dominant traits, so the plants were YyRr and had yellow, round peas. The F2...

test cross

Using Test Crosses to Identify Genotypes

Test crosses are used to identify the genotype of an organism with a dominant trait. A genotype is the pair of alleles inherited for a gene, and alleles are different forms of the same gene. In diploid organisms, including humans, each gene usually has two alleles, one from each parent. An allele is recessive when its effect is hidden by another allele at the same gene location. Pea plants provide a clear example with flower color. White flowers are recessive, because one copy of the purple...

polygenic traits

Polygenic Traits in Human Height

Polygenic traits are traits controlled by more than one gene. Human height is a clear example of this kind of inheritance. Because many genes work together, the final trait can vary a lot from person to person. Researchers have found hundreds of loci, or gene locations, that influence height. There are likely many more that have not yet been identified. Many of these genes affect cartilage in the growth plates of the long bones in the arms and legs, either directly or indirectly. Height is...

pedigree analysis

Reading Family Traits in Pedigrees

Pedigrees are family trees used to track how a trait passes through generations. They help scientists and students see whether a trait is dominant or recessive, whether it is autosomal or sex-linked, what genotypes family members may have, and what phenotypes may appear in future generations. For families with a history of inherited disease, this information can be important for family planning. In plants and animals, inheritance is often studied with crosses. Monohybrid crosses can show...

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Blood Type and Allele Interactions

Multiple alleles can shape traits through blood type, sickle cell anemia, incomplete dominance, and codominance. Multiple allelism means a gene has three or more allelic forms. Diploid organisms, including humans, usually carry only two alleles for each gene, but many human genes exist in multiple forms in the population. Human blood type is a clear example of multiple allelism. The blood type gene has three alleles: I A , I B , and i. These alleles help determine which blood type a person has...

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Gene Masking in Rabbit Fur Color

Epistasis describes how one gene can mask or change the effect of another gene. In high school genetics, this helps explain why many traits do not follow a simple single-gene pattern. Instead, alleles at different locations can work together to shape the final phenotype. Mendel studied seven unrelated pea traits, but most traits involve multiple gene interactions. Epistasis often happens when one gene interferes with the expression of another gene. It can also occur when genes are part of the...

nature and nurture

Genes and Environment Shape Height

Genes and environment both shape human height and other traits. Genes are the inherited instructions we get from our parents. Environment includes factors such as diet, stress, and social conditions. Many phenotypes, or observable traits, reflect both influences. Some also show up later in life, including cancer and other diseases. Height is a clear example of this interaction. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of height variation comes from genetic differences among people. The remaining 10-30%...

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SOX10 and Multiple Traits in Pleiotropy

Pleiotropy is when one gene affects more than one trait. The SOX10 gene is a clear example because it can influence pigmentation, hearing, and intestinal movement. These traits may seem unrelated, but they can all be linked to the same gene change. In humans, a deleted region in SOX10 can cause Waardenburg Syndrome Type 4, or WS4. WS4 is an autosomal recessive disorder, which means a person usually inherits two altered copies of the gene. Common signs include a white forelock,...

sex-linked disorders

X- and Y-Linked Disorder Patterns

X- and Y-linked disorders come from mutations in genes on the sex chromosomes. These genes, like those on autosomes, are needed for normal body function. When a mutation causes a biological problem, the condition is called sex-linked. Y-linked disorders come from changes in the Y chromosome. They affect only males, because only males carry a Y chromosome. Mutations in this small chromosome can affect male sexual function and secondary sex characteristics. One example is Y-chromosome...

x-linked traits

X-Linked Inheritance in Families

X-linked inheritance explains how traits on the X chromosome are passed through families. In most mammalian species, females have two X sex chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. A mutation on one X chromosome may be masked in females by a normal allele on the other X. In males, that same mutation is more likely to show because there is no second normal X to balance it. Traits caused by changes on the X chromosome are called X-linked traits. Color blindness is a well-studied example.

x-inactivation

Barr Bodies and X-Chromosome Balance

Barr bodies and X-chromosome balance help explain how female mammalian cells control gene activity from the X chromosome. The human X chromosome carries far more genes than the Y chromosome. Because males usually have one X chromosome and females have two, females would make twice as many of some proteins without a control system. To prevent that imbalance, female mammalian cells inactivate nearly all the genes on one X chromosome during early embryonic development. The inactive X condenses...

non-nuclear inheritance

Maternal DNA in Mitochondria and Chloroplasts

Maternal DNA in mitochondria and chloroplasts explains how some genes are inherited outside the nucleus. Most DNA is in the nucleus, but mitochondria and chloroplasts in the cell cytoplasm also carry their own DNA and can copy it independently of nuclear DNA. Mitochondria are found in both plant and animal cells. They are called the powerhouses of eukaryotic cells because they break down glucose to make energy for cellular activity. Mitochondrial DNA has about 37 genes, and many help with...

chromosomal theory of inheritance

How Genes Map to Chromosomes

Genes map to chromosomes, and this idea explains how Mendel’s inheritance patterns work. Gregor Mendel published his pea plant breeding results in 1866. He showed that physical traits follow predictable patterns. At the time, scientists did not yet know that genes existed. Mendel used the word "factors" for the hereditary units he studied. The details behind Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment were still unknown for many years. In the late 1800s, better microscopes and...

key terms and concepts

Learn how the sum rule and product rule help estimate inherited trait risk, including carrier probability and autosomal recessive disease examples like BTD.

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Inheritance Risk with Sum and Product Rules

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