Explain autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive inheritance

Autosomal dominant inheritance means that a condition or disease means that a genetic condition is caused when an individual inherits one copy of the condition gene from their parents. Children inherit two copies of each gene, one from each biological parent. So if a condition is autosomal dominant a child could inherit one 'healthy' copy and one 'faulty' copy but would have the condition. For autosomal recessive conditions two copies of the 'faulty' gene must be inherited, so one from each parent. If someone inherits one 'faulty' gene and one 'healthy' this would make them a carrier. For a child to inherit a recessive condition both their parents must be carriers of the condition.

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Answered by Lydia G. Biology tutor

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