Genes on the same chromosome tend to travel together. The DNA changes that cause blonde hair and blue eyes are usually on the same chromosome (in the same suitcase). Same thing with genes on the same chromosome. Wherever your suitcase ends up, the blonde hair dye and the blue contact lenses will arrive at the same place. Your blonde hair coloring will be in one place and your contact lenses in another.īut if you only have one suitcase, everything in it will almost always travel together. If you have two separate suitcases, then there is a chance that one might get sent to Detroit and the other to Honolulu. Imagine you have blonde hair coloring and blue contact lenses that you are taking with you on a trip. Think about it like suitcases at the airport. So if the DNA changes for blue eyes and blonde hair happen to both be on the same copy of chromosome 15, then they will tend to travel together*. We pass our genes down to our children in these chromosome chunks. We each have 23 pairs of chromosomes that contain almost all of our genes. This is important because of how genes are passed on to our children.
Like blonde hair and blue eyes which are both found on chromosome 15. Genetically linked traits need to be on the same chromosome. And the DNA changes in the OCA2 gene that cause blue eyes are found on chromosome 15. How do we know this?īecause the DNA changes in the MC1R gene that cause red hair are on chromosome 16. Which is why blonde hair and brown eyes are so rare.īut we know this isn't the case for red hair and light colored eyes. For example, blonde hair and blue eyes are known to be linked.
Or vice versa.Īnd the two aren't genetically linked like some other hair and eye color combinations. There isn't any evidence that the DNA changes that cause red hair also affect eye color. Editor’s Note (): While this article describes eye color as a simple trait determined by the OCA2 gene, we now know that there are over 50 different genes that affect your eye color.
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