Question

In human beings, the colour of skin is controlled by which of the following?

• A. Polygene
• B. Lethal genes
• C. Supplementary gene
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A Polygene

Polygene in simple words means multiple genes. Human skin colour, height, weight are good examples of polygenic inheritance. In polygenic inheritance, a single phenotypic character or trait is controlled by two or more genes. Skin colour is primarily due to the presence of a pigment called melanin. Melanin is controlled by at least 6 genes. Two forms of melanin are pheomelanin, which is red to yellow in colour and eumelanin, which is dark brown to black. An individual with fair complexion skin mostly produces pheomelanin while an individual with dark coloured skin mostly produce eumelanin. According to research, there are total 378 loci which are involved in determining the colour of skin in the human being.

Thus, the correct answer is option A.