Can Two Brown-Eyed People Have a Blue-Eyed Baby?
The short answer is yes – it is definitely possible for two brown-eyed parents to have a baby with blue eyes.
How Does Brown Eye Color Work?
Eye color is determined by a combination of genetics. The two main genes responsible for eye color are OCA2 and HERC2. These genes have multiple alleles, which determine the color of a person’s eyes.
Eye Color Combinations
A person’s eye color is a combination of genetics that can be broken down into four possibilities:
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- Brown eyes are dominant, the most common eye color.
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- Blue eyes are recessive, occurring in around 8% of the population.
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- Green eyes are a combination of both brown and blue.
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- Hazel eyes are a blend of green and brown.
What Causes Blue Eyes?
Although both brown and blue alleles exist in the gene pool, it is the combination of the two genes that determines eye color. If a person has two blue alleles, then the color of their eyes will always be blue. If both parents have two brown alleles, it is possible for their baby to have two blue alleles, thus resulting in blue eyes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, two brown-eyed parents can have a blue-eyed baby. The key is that both parents must carry the blue allele in their gene pool. This is due to the combination of both the OCA2 and HERC2 genes that determine eye color.