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-   -   How do you know which eye color genes you carry? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=377936)

  • Jul 20, 2009, 08:28 PM
    sonnyallie8989
    How do you know which eye color genes you carry?
    Okay, here's my question. I have a 14 week old baby who still has the same grey blue eye color he's had since birth. I have brown eyes, both my parents, all my sibs, and both grandpa's have brown. The only person who has blue green eyes is my grandma which would be my son's GREAT GRANDMOTHER. My boyfriend has green and his parents and sibs have blue. He got his eyes from his mom's dad (his grandpa). Now in order for my son to have blue eyes I'd have to have a blue-eyed gene. The only way that would be possible would be if my son got my grandma's gene. Now does it usually go THAT far back? I'm hoping for brown, what do you think? Could he still have my eyes? What are the odds?please help.
  • Jul 20, 2009, 09:10 PM
    mudweiser

    To be honest I don't know much about the whole eye color gene thing. I know that brown eyes are the more dominant gene-- it's also quite tricky too.

    My mother has light blue eyes and my grandparents had green and blue and I have black... so there goes the whole genetics mumble-jumble.

    No matter what eye color your child has I'm sure you'll love him either way :)

    Sarah
  • Jul 21, 2009, 02:39 AM
    Unknown008
    Seems to me that you have the blue eye gene and so does your husband, assuming that the predominant gene is the brown gene.

    Let B be the dominant gene for brown and b the gene for the recessive blue gene colour.

    Your grandma had bb (blue eyes), passed it on your mother who had Bb (brown eyes), passed it on to you Bb (brown eyes) and you now passed the b gene to your child. Since your child has blue eyes, the only combination is bb (blue eyes). That means your husband has the gene combination Bb (brown eyes)

    Did that helped? I know this may be quite difficult to understand.

    That also means that the probability for you having a child with brown eyes is 3/4
  • Jul 21, 2009, 02:57 AM
    danielnoahsmommy

    My son has blue eyes

    I have brown my husband has hazel
    Bother grandmothers have dark brown. One grandfather slate grey one brown. 4 great grandparents have blue eyes.

    I guess it can go back at least2 generations.
  • Jul 21, 2009, 07:42 PM
    sonnyallie8989
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Unknown008 View Post
    Seems to me that you have the blue eye gene and so does your husband, assuming that the predominant gene is the brown gene.

    Let B be the dominant gene for brown and b the gene for the recessive blue gene colour.

    Your grandma had bb (blue eyes), passed it on your mother who had Bb (brown eyes), passed it on to you Bb (brown eyes) and you now passed the b gene to your child. Since your child has blue eyes, the only combination is bb (blue eyes). That means your husband has the gene combination Bb (brown eyes)

    Did that helped? I know this may be quite difficult to understand.

    That also means that the probability for you having a child with brown eyes is 3/4

    Thanks Unknown-
    Yeah that makes sense (at least after reading it a few times over lol.) So you say that my odds are 75% chance of brown? I'm REALLY hoping but his eyes so far haven't changed color one bit. But I guess they say that from 4 to 6 months is generally when most Caucasian babies eyes change color. And I guess I read that if both parents have 2 very diff. eye colors it can sometimes even take longer.
  • Jul 22, 2009, 12:01 AM
    Unknown008
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sonnyallie8989 View Post
    Thanks Unknown-
    Yeah that makes sense (at least after reading it a few times over lol.) So you say that my odds are 75% chance of brown? I'm REALLY hoping but his eyes so far haven't changed color one bit. But I guess they say that from 4 to 6 months is generally when most caucasion babies eyes change color. And I guess i read that if both parents have 2 very diff. eye colors it can sometimes even take longer.

    You're welcomed sonnyallie. I didn't know about the 'babies' eyes changing colour' though. Well, I wish you good luck so that your baby can have the colour of eyes you want him to have! :)
  • Jul 22, 2009, 12:16 AM
    flakyfart

    Genetics involving eye colour are no way near as simple as people tend to think. There are actually several genes seq.s that are responsible for eye colour. Your son could have any eye colour under the sun, even violet.
  • Aug 13, 2009, 11:20 AM
    Edjay

    Flakyfart is correct. Eye color is not a matter of simple dominance, co-dominance, etc. There are numerous genes involved in eye color, some of which may be expressed (turned on or turned off) based on other eye color genes, and possibly other genes not related to eye color at all.
  • Aug 13, 2009, 11:30 AM
    Unknown008

    I put it in a simple language, with simple case, with what I've learnt from my last years' biology classes. This is the easiest way of saying this. One cannot say that more clearly to another one with little or no knowledge at all. If you go into details, what the asker would understand is little or nothing at all. If you think you know how to give all the details, then please, feel free.

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