Is it possible for a dark-skinned person to possess blue or green eyes?
I'm talking about the gene frequency and allele carrying the blue or green eye pigmentation and possiblity of dark-skins expressing that gene.
*Please do not give answers like: by wearing contact lenses, or through eye surgery ('cuz its not possilbe =P), or test-tube insemination, etc.*
*And please don't be offended by the question, this is meant to be a BIOLOGICAL question NOT a RACIST one* =)
2007-03-01 08:15:15 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Yes, though it is highly unlikely.
Blue and green eyes are recessive characteristics, so both of the parents would have to carry this gene. If they both have brown eyes, and are both carriers, the chances of having light eyes would be about one in four. (There are at least two different genes at work here too--so chances of a specific color are even lower.)
Most black or asian people would not have the gene at all--even as a recessive. So finding two brown eyed black people who have a light eyed child would be very rare--close to the rarity of most birth defects. My best guess would be one in 15000, but I would need a lot more data to give an accurate answer.
Somebody else said the alleles are not close together. If that is true, it means that eye color and skin color are not so much related, as they are coincidental. If the alleles were close together, this would make it even harder to have this trait, because you would inherit both traits together in most instances.
2007-03-01 08:22:44 · answer #1 · answered by wayfaroutthere 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I do not know what you mean by dark skinned. Sometimes Caucasian people group all black people as dark,because they are comparing them to a white person. But as we know there are many levels of color in black, and other people of color.i will provide a comparison of skin color using well known Blacks. Anyway, the answer is , Absolutely yes. I am a black person with a skin color similar to that of Whitney Houston and I have light green eyes. My grandfather is a little lighter (Tyra Banks) and he has blue eyes. Both my husband and my own family have more than a few people with the green eyes, two on my side with blue, and even 1 with eyes that we believe are violet( for lack of a better description). These folks range between light skinned(Alicia Keys), to Darker skinned (Denzel Washington).Even though it has occurred quite often In my above situation, it is not a common occurrence, but it is certainly not rare. Hope this helps.
2007-03-01 23:40:19 · answer #2 · answered by crystal fox 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on their parents' genes. If the father is dark-skinned, and the mother is light-skinned and has green eyes, then it is more likely that the child MAY have green eyes too, especially if other members of the mother's family have the same color eyes as the child. But then again, it's just a hypothesis, and may not be entirely accurate.
2007-03-01 08:20:15 · answer #3 · answered by poeticjustice 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES.
http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=57
2007-03-01 08:18:38 · answer #4 · answered by LabGrrl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Check out this website. It gives hereditary eye colors, although, it IS possible, but most unlikely, that if both of the parents have brown eyes, for a child to have green or blue eyes.
2007-03-01 08:21:08 · answer #5 · answered by TaMmY CaKeS 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes it is possible through genes, mostly in biracial people or people who have biracial families(i.e. dad is 1/4 white and 3/4 black because the grandma is full black but the grandpa is 1/2 black 1/2 white) it has to do with dominate allels vs.recessive allels
2007-03-01 08:48:44 · answer #6 · answered by Bearfriend 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe so...
Although most of the time it seems that, for example, African Americans always have dark traits, such as dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes...The traits for blue and green eyes are recessive and would be very rare in that population.
It's does happen, though it's not very likely to happen.
2007-03-01 08:23:25 · answer #7 · answered by belliott_777 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it is possible. On TV, i saw this girl with naturally blue eyes and she was black. no contacts, no surgery, or anything like that. I just think it is a rarer case than a white person having blue eyes.
2007-03-01 08:18:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. My friend is half african american and half white. She has green/blue eyes, and her skin is like a white chocolate.
So yes its possible. But is pretty rare.
2007-03-01 08:19:19 · answer #9 · answered by sellatieeat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is a recessive gene (blue eyes) in any race but i think particularly in darker skinned people. brown eyes are a dominant gene for any race but they seem to be more common in darker skinned people just like they have darker hair. you dont see too many african americans with blonde hair
2007-03-01 08:20:40 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋