Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 4/15/2008

Question
Dear Dana,

My boyfriend and i are expecting our first child in Late December. I was wondering what the possible hair and eye color would be.

Me- Red Hair
   Blue Eyes

Him-Light brown hair (born blonde)
   Brown eyes

Maternal Mother- Blonde Hair
                Hazel Eyes
Maternal Father- Brown hair
                Blue Eyes

Paternal Mother- Brown/Red Hair
                Brown Eyes
Paternal Father- Blonde Hair
                Blue eyes.

Thank you for any information you can give me!


Sincerly,
Kelsey


Answer
Dear Kelsey,

Human hair, eye, and skin color are very complex and difficult to predict, because each of these traits is controlled by more than one gene.  What determines the physical appearance (expression) of each trait is the dominant versions of the various genes that affect the traits in question, because these are the ones most likely to be expressed by the child--though not always.  I'll try to explain.

Every human carries two copies of every gene.  Scientists now estimate that a human has about 30,000 genes in the genome, and every human has two copies of that genome:  one from mom, and one from dad.  The  versions of each gene (called *alleles) that a child gets from each parent may be the same in a single person, or they may be different.  For example, if there's a gene we'll call X, and the father's alleles are XX and the mother's are xx, then the child will get one from each parent, and have the genotype Xx for that particular green.

How does this affect the physical appearance of a trait?  Here's a brief example.  Let's say that there's a human gene that codes for the shape of the forehead hairline.  There are two versions of the gene.  One, which we'll call "W" codes for a small "V" of hair to point down onto the forehead (Widow's Peak).  The other version, which we'll call "w", codes for a straight hairline.  In this case, the W allele of the gene masks the expression of the w allele.  The W is *dominant*, and the w is *recessive*.  So if every person has two copies of this gene, then the possible combinations are:

WW - Widow's peak
Ww - Widow's peak
ww - straight

Human hair, skin and eye color are not that simple.  Instead of being controlled by only one gene, these traits are each controlled by *several* different genes, each with two or more versions (alleles).
This means that the different versions can combine in unpredictable ways to produce a wide range of phenotypes (physical appearance).

A trait that is controlled by several genes is called a POLYGENIC TRAIT. A polygenic trait is the expression of a single phenotypic trait that is affected by the action of more than one gene.

There are too many examples to list, since most traits are, at least to some degree, polygenic.  But human hair color, eye color, and skin color are among them.

One cute, easy-to-see example of a polygenic trait is the inheritance of fruit color in bell peppers, and it is a bit analogous to the human traits just named. There are at least three genes involved here, which we'll abbreviate as:

  * Y - timing of chlorophyll (green pigment) elimination
        (Y - early; y - normal)
  * R - color of carotenoid pigments
        (R - red; r - yellow)
  * C - regulation of carotenoid deposition
        (C - normal; c1, c2 - two alleles for lower concentration)

(The capital letters indicate the dominant alleles; the lower case indicate various versions of recessive alleles.)

This leads to a few possible genotypes producing interesting phenotypes:
        o Y- rr c1c2 - pale yellow
        o Y- rr Cc2 - darker yellow
        o yy rr CC - green
        o Y- R- CC - red
        o yy Rr CC - purple
        o Y- Rr Cc2 - pale yellow

You can see what these look like here:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/pix/bellpeppers.jpg

See?  It is a little bit like human color, but in this case there are only *three* genes involved.  Imagine how complicated things get when there are more than three genes, as there are in human hair, eye, and skin color!

The more genes involved in the expression/appearance of a trait, the more possible variations there are, and the more impossible it becomes to guess what a baby will look like, especially if you don't know the exact genetics of the parents.  (Knowing the grandparents' phenotypes can help, but usually not very much.)

Hair color is a result of interaction between several genes that not only control the *color* of the hair pigmentation (brown eumelanin pigment or red phaeomelanin pigment), but also *how much* pigment is deposited in the hair shaft.  The darker the hair, the greater the melanin deposition, but one can't really predict how dark a baby's hair will be, since s/he may inherit a wide variety of "darkness level" genes from both parents, and they can recombine in various ways.

Since you have red hair, you express the recessive condition.  Your boyfriend expresses light-colored hair.  It's not possible to confidently predict the baby's hair color, but it's likely to be reddish or blonde, and then perhaps darken with age (as most people's hair does).

Similarly, light colored eyes (blue, green, hazel, grey, etc.) are usually considered recessive to dark-colored eyes.  But this trait, too, is controlled by at least five different genes.  

Because your boyfriend's father has blue eyes, your boyfriend carries the recessive blue-eyed trait even though he expresses the dominant allele given to him by his mom.  That means that there's about a 50% chance that your baby will have light-colored (blue) eyes.

I know this doesn't give you the answer you were seeking, but I hope it at least gives you an idea of how truly complicated (if not impossible) it is to predict something like this.  

Whatever color the baby, I hope s/he will be happy and healthy!  Good luck!

Dana