Albinism is a sex-linked trait. Accordingly, the description of "heterozygous male" doesn't make sense. The sex chromosomes for males are XY, and usually genetic disorders are passed down by the X chromosome (which is the case for albinism). So in the problem, we aren't sure whether the male is XaY or XAY. It would be more helpful to know if the male was albino or not; we would then immediately know his genotype. We can, however, figure out the genotype of the female. Because albinism is recessive, we can deduce that her genotyple is XaXa. But without knowing the male's genotype or phenotype, the offspring percentages cannot be calculated.
In this scenario, the mother is heterozygous for normal skin pigmentation (Aa) and the father is homozygous recessive for albinism (aa). The possible genotypes for their child are Aa (normal pigmentation) and aa (albino). Using a Punnett square, there is a 50% probability that the child will be albino (aa).
For the mother to have a non-albino offspring, she would need to have at least one dominant allele for the trait, so her genotype could be either Aa or AA. The father must have two recessive alleles (aa) to pass on albinism to the offspring. The albino offspring's genotype would be aa.
The parents of an albino plant are likely to be heterozygous for the gene controlling albinism. This means they carry one normal allele and one albino allele. When these two alleles combine in the offspring, it results in the expression of the albino trait.
Dominance and Segregation
It's certainly possible ! Any species on Earth (including humans and mudpuppies) is capable of producing albino offspring. Albinism is simply a genetic 'mutation'.
albinism
The principle of dominance and recessiveness explains why the offspring is albino. Albinism is a recessive trait, meaning that both parents must carry at least one copy of the albino gene in order for it to be expressed in the offspring. This demonstrates how traits can be masked in one generation and expressed in the next through Mendelian genetics.
Albinism is genetically determined.
Albinism
Both parents would each have one dominant gene for normal pigmintation and each would have one recessive albino gene. Say P is the dominant gene and q is the albino gene. Then the parents genotype would both be Pq. Below is a Punnet Square. The child's genotype is qq P q ------------------------------------- P / PP / Pq (carrier) / / / / ///////////////////////////////////////// q / Pq (carrier) / qq (albino) / / / / ////////////////////////////////////////
Yes, an albino cow can have calves, as albinism does not affect a cow's reproductive capabilities. Albinism is a genetic condition that results in a lack of pigmentation, but it does not interfere with the cow's ability to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. If bred with a non-albino bull, the calves may or may not inherit the albinism trait, depending on their genetic makeup.