10
$\begingroup$

So, I have an XX, & I got an X from my mom, & an X from my dad. My dad would have gotten his only X from his mother, & my mother could have gotten the X I got from her father or mother. That would mean I did not get either X gene from either my mom's mom or dad, or my dad's dad - does that mean that I have "less" of their genetics in me? Say I got my mom's dad's X, would that mean I have less of my mom's mom's genetic traits?

$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

20
$\begingroup$

Speaking of your DNA in general, you have alleles from all four of your grandparents. The 22 pairs of autosomes (non-sex chromosomes) can receive DNA from all four with random mixing. On a few chromosome pairs you may be missing alleles from one of your grandparents due to the randomness, but on average you will have about a quarter of your autosomes from each of them.

The X (and Y, for males) chromosomes are special, though. The X you inherit from your mother will have alleles from both your maternal grandparents. The X that you, as a female, get from your father has no alleles from his father, so that grandfather's X alleles are always missing from your genome.

Because of the random mixing, you will have slightly varying amounts of DNA from each of your grandparents: it won't be exactly 25% for each of them. Because of the special X inheritance, your paternal grandfather will on average contribute slightly less than the other three grandparents. (Because of another quirk, mitochondrial inheritance, your maternal grandmother will contribute on average a very small amount more than the other three grandparents.)

$\endgroup$
2

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .