Blood Types The Genetics of Blood Type

How many of you know what your blood type is?

Blood type is determined by 3 alleles. It is an example of a multiple alleles trait. Multiple alleles is a trait that requires 3 or more alleles.

The Alleles for RBC’s AlleleRed Blood Cell A codominantA-antigen on RBC (unique shaped protein.) B codominantB-antigen on RBC O recessiveNo antigen on RBC

Rh Factor Rh factor -- first discovered in the Rhesus monkey. AlleleRBC + (positive)Has Rh factor protein on RBC - (negative)Has no Rh factor protein RBC

The Genetics of Blood Type Donor/RecipientDonor/Recipient?

Universal Donors/Recipients Universal donor is O negative; they can give blood to anyone because their RBC’s don’t have any proteins. Universal recipient is AB positive; they already have all of the proteins, so adding more of any kind will not make a difference.

WRONG BLOOD TYPE??? If given the “wrong” blood type for medical purpose, the immune system would recognize the blood cells as foreign and destroy them!

Most common type of blood in the US is O – 45% A is 40% B is 11% AB is least common with 4%

Phenotypes and Genotypes PHENOTYPESGENOTYPES AAA, AO BBB, BO OOO AB

The Genetics of Blood Type How can we predict Blood Type inheritance? Using a Punnett square! Let’s look at possible blood types of the children of a couple whose blood types are B and A.

The Genetics of Blood Type First we need to determine their genotypes. From one parent we can get B or O From the other we can only get A or O

The Genetics of Blood Type B O A O

B O AABAO OBOOO

The Genetics of Blood Type Genotype: 1 AO: 1 BO: 1 OO: 1 AB Phenotype: 1 A: 1 B: 1 O: 1 AB B O AABAO OBOOO

The Genetics of Blood Type Your homework: Blood Types Worksheet