Question

An online article that your professor asked you to critique states that African Americans cannot contract malaria, even if they go to endemic areas, because of a genetic trait that confers protection from the disease. Why is this article incorrect?
A. African Americans have lost the allele for normal red blood cells through genetic drift from their ancestral African population.
B. balanced polymorphism means that not all African Americans are heterozygous for the sickle cell trait.
C. protection from malaria cannot be conferred by genes.
D. African Americans are more likely to have thalassemia, which does not protect a person completely from contracting malaria.

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is B.

Explanation:

Regarding the situation explained in the question that "African Americans are not affected by the malaria disease because of a specific genetic trait that they possess and that trait provides them with protection" can be explained by the answer given in option B.

Being heterozygous, meaning possessing a dominant and a recessive allele regarding that genetic trait, in terms of sickle cell trait which is a gene that causes the individual's blood cells to be sickle shaped and balanced polymorphism which means carrying two different versions of a gene is an argument that is enough to prove that the above statement is incorrect because it means they have blood cells that can be affected by the malaria disease.

I hope this answer helps.