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Males more frequently express sex-linked traits because they only have one X chromosome. Since most of the genes on the sex chromosomes are on the X chromosome and very few are on the Y, so any recessive gene on the X chromosome will be expressed.

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13y ago
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6mo ago

Males have only one X chromosome, so if they inherit a recessive allele for a sex-linked trait, they will exhibit that trait because they lack a second X chromosome to mask the expression of the allele. In females, the presence of two X chromosomes allows for the masking of recessive alleles carried on one X chromosome by the dominant allele on the other X chromosome.

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12y ago

a male's chromosomes are XY, whereas a girls are XX. With a female, hes sex-linked traits can be dominated by her other X chromosome. Whereas with boys, their Y is what they get, there's no changing it.

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14y ago

Males have only one X chromosome, so a recessive X-linked trait will be displayed in the phenotype [visible on the outside]. Females have two X chromosomes, so both of the chromosomes must have the trait for it to be displayed on the phenotype.

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14y ago

{ Short Answer } - Because females have only one X chromosome.

Males are more likely than females to have sex-linked traits controlled by a recessive allele because they only need one recessive allele to have the sex-linked trait. In contrast, females need two recessive alleles to have the sex-linked trait, so they have a lower probability of having it.

This is best viewed with a Punnet square. Say the recessive allele that controls the sex-linked trait is Xa. XA is the dominant allele and Y is the male chromosome.

Scenario #1

If the mom is XA XA and marries a man with the sex-linked trait Xa Y, then none of the sons will have the sex-linked trait. All the daughters will have the mutant allele, but they will all be carriers with normal phenotypes since they only have one mutant allele.

Xa

Y

XA

XA Xa

Xa Y

XA

XA Xa

Xa Y

Scenario #2

If the mom is XA Xa and marries a man with the sex-linked trait Xa Y, then there is a 50% chance that each child will have the sex-linked trait, regardless of sex.

Xa

Y

XA

XA Xa

XA Y

Xa

Xa Xa

Xa Y

Scenario #3

If the mom is a carrier XA Xa and marries a normal man XA Y, then there is a 50% chance each son will have the sex-linked trait. The daughters may be carriers, but none of them will have the sex-linked trait.

XA

Y

XA

XA XA

XA Y

Xa

XA Xa

Xa Y

Scenario #4

If the mom has the sex-linked trait Xa Xa and marries a normal man XA Y, then all of the sons will have the sex-linked trait. The daughters will be carriers, but none of them will have the sex-linked trait.

XA

Y

Xa

XA Xa

Xa Y

Xa

XA Xa

Xa Y

Scenario #5

If the mom has the sex-linked trait Xa Xa and marries a man who also has the sex-linked trait Xa Y, then all of their children will have the sex-linked trait.

Xa

Y

Xa

Xa Xa

Xa Y

Xa

Xa Xa

Xa Y

As you can see, there are many more strikethrough outcomes (8) where the male has the sex-linked trait controlled by a recessive allele than bold outcomes (3) where the female has the sex-linked trait. Thus, males are more likely than females to have sex-linked traits controlled by a recessive allele.

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12y ago

Females have two X chromosomes, whereas males only have one.

This means that if a female has one normal allele and one affected allele, the trait will not be expressed (because it is recessive, the normal trait will be expressed instead).

However, because males only have one X chromosome, if they have the affected trait, there is no normal trait on the other chromosome to cancel it out - so the trait will be expressed.

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11y ago

Because in heterozygous conditions the female is XX, which offers statistical protection against a recessive condition traveling with the X chromosome. Males, being XY, have no such protection against receiving a recessive allele on the X chromosome.

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14y ago

Because they olny have one X chromosome.

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Q: Why are males affected by recessive sex-linked traits more often than females?
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Related questions

Traits determined by recessive genes located on the x chromosomes are said to be?

X-linked recessive traits. These traits are more commonly expressed in males, as they only have one X chromosome. Females need to inherit two copies of the recessive gene to express the trait.


What is the difference dominant and recessive trait?

Dominant traits are the traits that mask the recessive traits. The dominant traits are stronger than recessive!


What are characteristics of sex-linked traits?

Sex-linked traits are carried on the sex chromosomes, typically the X chromosome in humans. They can be recessive or dominant. Males are more commonly affected by sex-linked recessive traits because they only have one X chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes, providing a backup in case one carries a harmful trait.


Why do you sex linked traits follow different patterns of inheritance then other traits?

Males and females have different sex chromosomes.


Why are males more likely than females to have a sex linked traits that are recessive?

Because they olny have one X chromosome.


Which gender has a higher frequency of sex linked traits?

Males typically have a higher frequency of sex-linked traits because they have only one X chromosome, making recessive sex-linked traits more likely to be expressed. Females have two X chromosomes and can be carriers of recessive sex-linked traits without showing the phenotype.


What do organisms pass to their offspring?

They pass on traits. There are recessive traits and dominant traits. The dominant trait is normally the one that overpowers recessive


Which traits oberved were dominant and recessive?

In genetics, dominant traits are those that are expressed when an individual has one or two copies of the dominant allele, while recessive traits are only expressed when an individual has two copies of the recessive allele and no dominant allele present. Dominant traits often mask recessive traits in heterozygous individuals.


Why are traits controlled by recessive alleles on the X chromosome are more common in males than in females?

Males only have one X chromosome, so even if the gene on that chromosome is recessive there is no other gene that could dominate it. Females have two X chromosomes, so if the gene on that chromosome is recessive there is still a chance that the gene on the other chromosome could be dominate and override it.


Why are recessive disorders more common than dominant disorders?

Recessive disorders are more common than dominant disorders because carriers of recessive genes can pass on the disorder without being affected themselves. This means that individuals can carry the recessive gene without showing symptoms, leading to a higher chance of two carriers having an affected child. In contrast, dominant disorders require that at least one parent carrying the dominant gene must be affected, making them less common.


What is meaning of recessive traits?

an inherited character determined by a recessive gene


What kinds of traits seem to disappear sometimes?

Recessive Traits