Which of the following is the best explanation for a child who is phenotypically short and born of two tall parents?
Height is a polygenic trait, meaning it is controlled by multiple genes. In simplified Mendelian genetics often used for such questions, "shortness" is typically treated as a recessive trait. For a child to be phenotypically short (express the trait) while both parents are tall, each parent must be a heterozygous carrier. This means they both carry a dominant gene for "tallness" (which they express) and a hidden recessive gene for "shortness." The child becomes short by inheriting one recessive "shortness" gene from each parent.
There is an explanation video available below.
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