What is the genetic reason for someone having two different colored eyes?

Answer 1

A person who is a chimera is made up of cells from different people. So some of their cells have the DNA of one person and the other cells have the DNA of another person. How do you do that?

Imagine that inside of a womb, instead of there being only one egg, there are actually two. If both of these eggs get fertilized by two different sperm cells, you get fraternal twins. Fraternal twins are no more related than any brother or sister.

Now, imagine that instead of developing separately, these fertilized eggs actually fuse. Then only one baby would develop. This baby would have cells from not one, but two different zygotes.

every zygote carries its own unique set of DNA. So the baby would have two different sets of DNA. Most chimeras grow up and look like everyone else. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell that the person was a chimera. Sometimes you can see patchy areas on the skin or two different colored eyes.

Answer 2

bjm_116's answer is one possible explanation.

The condition is known as heterochromia and is fairly certainly a genetic condition. Some breeds of dogs and other animals have this condition fairly regularly.

Another possible (but probably quite rare) cause is a "somatic mutation". Suppose that you are heterozygous for eye color, having one brown allele and one blue allele. In most cases, you'll have brown eyes because that allele is dominant over the allele for blue eyes. Somatic mutation is a mutation in a body cell. Suppose that during embryonic development, the brown eye color allele in some cell mutated and became non-functional. If that happened in a cell that was going to give rise to an eye, that eye would be blue.

Since you said that it seems to run in your family, I'm guessing that your family has the same cause as in the animals, rather than the somatic mutation or the chimera. I don't believe that the specific molecular or genetic mechanism for the inherited form of the condition is known.

It's certainly not a big deal, though, and certainly has no harmful effect. I think folks with heterochromia are pretty amazing looking.

Answer 3

Some real morons weighing in on this question!

Yes, it does happen, many consider it a genetic flaw.
If you think that is weird, I used to work with a girl whose right eye was two colors!
There was a vertical split in the iris of her right eye making one side blue and the other side brown.
So, it is a real thing, don't pay attention to the morons, it was a good question.
I just don't know the exact genetic flaw that causes it.

Answer 4

wide-spread for this to ensue. It happens from a reccessive gene. basically observe that often, no longer each and all of the time, a white cat that has one blue eye and one green could be deaf interior the ear this is closest to the blue eye. it is likewise a sort of flukes that ensue with genes. sometimes, and that i rigidity no longer each and all of the time, if a cat this is white that has the two blue eyes, ought to stand the prospect of being difficult of listening to or deaf.

Answer 5

uglyness, crazyness lol j/p. I don't know. Maybe the colors of your parents eyes come in to affect. I just hope one of them aren't black or grey. That may mean that the person is going blind.

Answer 6

I don't know but it runs in my family. I, luckily have 2 brown eyes.

Answer 7

People dont have two different colored eyes .

Answer 8

wow. Awesome , don't know but these people are hard to find.

Answer 9

Are you stupid?!?!?!?!-I don't think there are any, unless some guy is wearin a contact in one eye and no contact in the other.

Answer 10

stupid... they can

but its very rare