Only 1% of the world's population has red hair. It is caused by a recessive variation in the MCR1 gene that codes for hair color. In 1-2 sentences, explain how this variation could have formed in ancestral DNA, and how it has led to red hair through viable errors.

Answer 1

The recessive variation in the MCR1 gene that leads to red hair likely originated from a mutation in ancestral DNA, where a small change in the gene's sequence affected the production of melanin, resulting in less eumelanin and more pheomelanin in hair follicles. Over generations, under certain environmental conditions or due to sexual selection, this mutation became viable and persisted within the population, ultimately manifesting as red hair in a small percentage of individuals.