Question

In a pedigree analysis

represents
A. Consanguineous mating
B. Affected parents
C. Siblings
D. Unrelated mating

Answer 1

Hint: Pedigree analysis is a method of study of human genetic disorders. A family tree or pedigree diagram is drawn using certain standard symbols. The pedigree analysis helps to understand the cause of genetic disorders and the pattern of their inheritance.

Complete answer:
The pedigree analysis represents the inheritance of a particular trait in the family tree over various generations. The pedigree diagram is drawn using some special types of symbols. These symbols and their representations are given as follows –

This symbol is used to represent the unaffected males.
\(\bigcirc \)
This symbol is used to represent the unaffected females.
\(\diamondsuit \)
This symbol is used to represent the individuals whose sex is unspecified.

These symbols are used to represent affected individuals.
\( \odot \)
This symbol is used to represent the carrier females.

This symbol is used to represent the mating between two unrelated individuals.

This symbol is used to represent the mating between two related individuals who are relatives. This kind of mating is also known as consanguineous mating.

This symbol is used to represent the parents and their children. The parents are sown above and the children are shown below. Moreover, the children are represented in the order of birth from the left towards the right.

This symbol is used to represent the affected progeny of the parents.

This symbol is used to represent the total number of unaffected offspring whose sex is unidentified. Thus, based on the above information we can conclude that a pedigree analysis represents

consanguineous mating.
Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: Humans follow the principles of inheritance but the Mendelian experiments cannot be carried over humans. This is because controlled crosses are not possible in humans and the number of offspring per couple is small. Therefore, to carry out genetic analysis of humans, pedigree diagrams are used.