Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Is it at all possible?

Both sets of grandparents have light eyes too... There are some brown eyes in the family within cousins and whatnot.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Totally possible. It actually is NOT true that brown eye color is always dominant.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Message edited 11/23/2011 5:03:03 PM.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

does anyone see the irony to the two responses above?

I have no clue in response to the question...

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Eye color involves mulitple genes and is way more complex then the Mendelian square we all learned in HS bio.

So yes, it is possible.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

I know two brown-eyed parents that had VERY BLUE-eyed Twin girls.....

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

my grandparents both had blue eyes and my mom has brown.

I have blue..

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Message edited 11/23/2011 5:03:25 PM.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

I always thought it depended on the color of all four grandparents too, like you mention. For example, DH and are both have blue eyes and our parents all have blue/green eyes. In our case, I think it would be impossible for us to have a brown eyed child. (At least, this is what my Mom tells me but she's a bus driver and not a biology/genetics expert. She's weirdly into the recessive eye color thing and just mentioned this the other day.)

If one of our parents had brown eyes, then I think it would be possible for that brown gene to dominate and there could be a chance that DH and I would have a brown eyed child, even though we are both blue. Then again, there's a fair chance that it did not dominate and we could have a blue too!

But, again, I am citing my Mom (the Bus Driver) as my source!

Message edited 2/24/2009 9:21:31 PM.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

If I remember 8th grade genetics correctly....2 brown eyed people can have blued eyed children since the dominant gene is brown but the recessive gene can be blue. If someone with a dominant brown gene but blue recessive gene marries someone else who is brown eyed with the same genetic make up both blue eyed recessive gens can come out in their child and produce blue eyed children. Two people with blue eyes can not have brown eyed children since there are 2 recessive blue eyed genes in their genetic make-up there is no brown eye dominant gene that can come out in their children.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

My parents are both brown eyed and 4 of us have brown eyes and 2 of my siblings have blue. They must have a recessive blue gene somewhere.

I have brown eyes, my DH has blue. We have one brown eyed child and 1 blue eyed child.

WRT the original post, I didn't think two blue eyed parents could have a brown eyed child, but then again, it's been a long time since my 9th grade genetics class

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Posted by imthekevinofcindyandkevin

Posted by Kara

Posted by imthekevinofcindyandkevin

yep. Brown is a dominant trait/gene where blue or green is recessive.

That's not always true. If it were, then two blue-eyed parents would NOT be able to have a brown-eyed child. (If the parents carrried the dominant brown-eyed gene, they would have brown eyes, not blue.) However, eye color genetics is a bit more complicated than brown = dominant and blue = recessive. Brown isn't always dominant, so it is possible for 2 blue-eyed parents to have a brown-eyed child.

you just confused the crap out of me

FTR I never said it was always the case just more common I guess.

ETA

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

From what I understand, it is not common but YES it is totally possible.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Message edited 11/23/2011 5:04:08 PM.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Posted by imthekevinofcindyandkevin
I am now going to poke out my HAZEL eyes thankyouvermuch

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

I have green eyes, my DH has brown eyes and my son has bright blue eyes...which look to be turning a bit green

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

My mom's parents have blue eyes. My mom has brown (so does my dad) and me and my sisters all have green. So it's possible!

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

Look at all you science geeks!

I just wanted to throw it out there that while it is absolutely possible to have a blue eyed child when both parents are brown eyed - it is still considered unusual. There are a lot of contingent factors that would need to come into play.

Here's a fantastic resource if you really want to know more about dominant/recessive genes and their expressions:

OMG! My son has brown eyes and my wife and I have blue! Was she cheating?

Message edited 2/25/2009 6:44:50 AM.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

This explains it pretty well.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

It's way too complicated for me to explain why at this hour, but yes, it is possible. Basically, two blue eyed parents can very well have a brown gene in them. Combined, those two brown genes could produce a brown eyed kid. Statistically it is more frequent to have a child with blue eyes, but it does happen that two blue eyed parents could have a brown eyed child.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

My Dh and I have brown hair, brown eyes and so do my parents. My DS was born with brown hair and brown eyes but my DD picked up a trait from my in laws and has red hair and blue eyes. Genetics are crazy.

Re: Genetics question! Blue-eyed parents have brown-eyed kid?

me = brown
DH = Green
DD1 = started blue, now greenish blue (hazel, i guess?)
DD2 = BLUE blue

my mom = brown
my dad = blue

my grandma - brown
my grandpa - Blue

DH mom - brown
DH dad - blue or green

DH Grandma= BLUE blue
DH grandpa - don't know passed away a long time ago.

so.. i have NO clue how my kids got the color they did.