A man and woman are both heterozygous for the recessive...

A man and woman are both heterozygous for the recessive allele that causes cystic fibrosis. What is the probability that their first two offspring will have the disorder?
a. 1
b. $1 / 4$
c. $1 / 16$
d. $1 / 32$
e. 0

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Key Concepts

Autosomal Recessive Inheritance

This concept refers to traits that are expressed only when an individual inherits two copies of a recessive allele. In diseases like cystic fibrosis, a person must receive one recessive allele from each parent to manifest the disorder.

Heterozygosity

A heterozygous genotype means that an individual has two different alleles for a specific gene. For recessive disorders, heterozygous individuals are carriers who do not express the disease but can pass the recessive allele to their offspring.

Punnett Square Analysis

A Punnett square is a visual representation used in genetics to predict the distribution of alleles among offspring. It helps illustrate the potential genotype and phenotype ratios from a cross, such as determining the probability of a recessive disorder in children.

Independent Assortment and Probability Multiplication Rule

This principle states that the segregation of alleles during gamete formation is independent for each offspring, meaning that the probability of multiple independent genetic events, such as two children inheriting a recessive disorder, is the product of the individual probabilities.

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