Is tongue rolling a sex linked trait?

Answer 1

Rolling your tongue into a taco shape (curling up the sides) is proven to not follow the classical recessive or dominant heredity on studies on monozygotic twins. Many textbooks, including those used in general school education have been drawing information from outdated sources, proven to be wrong. The mechanism of heredity is yet still unclear and further studies are required to come to a definite answer.

Reference link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=189300

Answer 2

No. It is an inherited trait with non rolling ability being the recessive gene (I, as a non-roller also think that it is linked to intelligence. While rollers were developing that ability, I like to think non-rollers were developing superior brain skill...). But.

The ability or non ability to roll the tongue is pretty much 50:50 in terms of gender (at least it has been in my classrooms). This means it isn't sex linked. Traits that are sex linked tend to show a higher proportion of male 'sufferers' because a recessive gene on the X chromosome isn't cancelled out by a dominant gene on the Y chromosome, because the stumpy Y chromosome doesn't have as many genes on it. Men are, in effect, several genes short of a full chromosome. Females, with 2 X chromosomes have a much higher chance of inheriting a 'healthy' gene as well as a 'faulty' gene.

Answer 3

Tongue rolling is not a sex-linked trait. It is a genetic trait that is thought to be influenced by a combination of multiple genes. While the ability to roll the tongue can be observed more frequently in certain populations, it does not follow a classic sex-linked inheritance pattern.