Question

Which is the most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits?(1 point) Responses A grandparent exhibits the trait, and the child inherited it directly from that person. A grandparent exhibits the trait, and the child inherited it directly from that person. The parents have recessive alleles, and the child inherited a dominant allele. The parents have recessive alleles, and the child inherited a dominant allele. The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent. The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent. A mutation occurred, and the child exhibits a new trait due to the mutation.

Answer 1

The most likely explanation for a child exhibiting a heritable trait that neither parent exhibits is: The trait is recessive, and the child inherited a recessive allele from each parent.

In this scenario, both parents can be carriers of the recessive allele (having one dominant and one recessive allele), but do not express the trait themselves because they have one dominant allele that masks the effect of the recessive allele. When the child inherits the recessive allele from both parents, they express the trait.