Genetics and Race - When Incest happens..?

Question

If you have a family that is half-black, half-Italian and two of the siblings have a child together, would that child be mostly white because of the nature of genetics? Meaning, would the recessive white gene be dominant in their offspring?

There is NO retardation in the child. NONE. So don't include this in your answers!

So far you're all wrong: I am the child in question, I look mostly white and consider myself white. My children *are* white - my son has blonde hair and green eyes! I would never consider myself black. And no, black is not dominant.

You've all missed the point about RECESSIVE genes. In incest, the recessive takes over, NOT the dominant.

Thanks for the facts, Bronwen. :)

Answer 1

There is no such gene as a white or black gene. Please don't argue with me as I do have a BS in biology. There are only genes that regulate how much melanin one has in their skin, race is a social construct not a biological fact. In most countries around the world race is not observed.

Answer 2

No, not necessarily.

Going strictly by the rule of genetics, any given child from such a match only has a 25% chance of inheriting both recessive light genes, which would make it appear more white. Said child has a 25% chance of inheriting two dominant dark genes, and a 50% chance of inheriting both a dominant and a recessive gene. In the last two cases, because the dark gene is dominant, the child will tend to look more black.

However, the genes that govern what a person looks like include all sorts of genes, from skin tone, to eye color, to hair texture. Every single one of those genetic choices is subject to the 25/50/25 chances of inheriting dominant or recessive genes, or a mix of both.

Really, the most realistic thing you can do is wait until the baby is born, and see how it looks. Genetics is a crap shoot in one sense, in that we cannot control it. We cannot judge what genes we carry unless we have an entire genetic workup, and even then, we cannot control what happens during conception.

I just went back after posting my answer and saw your comments. That statement about recessives taking over in incest is incorrect. What happens in incest is that there is a greater chance of recessives coming to the forefront because both parents possess the same recessive genes. Genetics works the same whether it's incest or not. The reason groups with a lot of inbreeding have children with so many disabilities is not because recessives become more powerful, it's because recessive genes for things like diseases have a much better chance of combining if they are already carried by both parties.

As for you being the product of such a match, it is entirely possible for you to appear white, as the gene pool for people of African descent living anywhere outside of Africa usually contains a lot of recessive genes anyway from past breeding (wow, I hate to use that word when referring to people, but that's the right word in this case) with light people. Again, it's a crap shoot.

Answer 3

No, I would say mostly black, since black is dominant over white, especially if the two pools are equal blood. Just look at Tiger Woods!

Answer 4

They would be mostly black, or it will be the half &half but the child would be considered black.

Answer 5

Black - the predominant theme