Best,
I myself have auburn hair. My mother, my uncle and my grandfather’s sister have red hair. My father has black hair.
I would like to know with which type of hair (brown or blond) I have the least chance of children with red hair.
thanks in advance
Stephanie
Asker: Stephanie, 28 years old
Answer
Several genes play a role in determining your hair color. The combination with black or brown hair (also with the parents and grandparents) will reduce the chance of children with red hair, but there will never be any certainty.
Your maroon hair color and your mother’s red hair suggest that you can still pass on red hair (homozygous for the red hair allele). The combination with a person who is homozygous for the non-red allele will produce children with non-red hair. However, you are not sure of his non-red alleles (even if he has brown or black hair) as another pair of genes can camouflage the first pair of genes. The combination with blond will ensure that your red hair alleles win and produce red haired children.
Answered by
Dr. Peter Strager
Molecular Microbiology Biomedical Sciences Medical and pharmaceutical research Molecular Biotechnology
university of Ghent
http://www.ugent.be
.