Red hair is a recessive genetic trait caused by a series of mutations in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), also known as melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MSHR), melanin-activating peptide receptor, or melanotropin receptor, is a G protein–coupled receptor that binds to a class of pituitary peptide hormones known as the melanocortins, which in…Melanocortin 1 receptor
Is red hair an inherited trait or genetic?
Red hair is the result of a genetic variant that causes the body’s skin cells and hair cells to produce more of one particular type of melanin and less of another. Most redheads have a gene mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R).
How is red hair passed on genetically?
- Brown DNA + brown DNA = brown hair
- Brown DNA + red DNA = brown hair
- Brown DNA + blonde DNA = brown hair
- Blonde DNA + blonde DNA = blonde hair
- Red DNA + red DNA = red hair
- Red DNA + blonde DNA = strawberry blonde hair
Is red hair a dominant gene?
Red hair is not actually a recessive gene (like blonde is), but is rather an "incomplete dominant ." In the world of genes, there are dominant genes, which take over any recessive gene (brown, black), recessive genes (blonde), which will be taken over by any dominant gene, or incomplete dominent genes (red). Where did the red hair gene come from?
What percentage of people have red hair?
We can more easily spot a redhead in a crowd than a blonde or brunette. They are few and far between; about one to two percent of the population possesses natural red locks. However, their hair isn't the only thing that sets them apart - genetic differences can affect everything from their pain threshold to how easily they bruise.
How is red hair passed down?
The gene for red hair is recessive, so a person needs two copies of that gene for it to show up or be expressed. That means even if both parents carry the gene, just one in four of their children are likely to turn out to be a redhead.
Which parent determines red hair?
In order to be a redhead, a baby needs two copies of the red hair gene (a mutation of the MC1R gene) because it is recessive. This means if neither parent is ginger, they both need to carry the gene and pass it on — and even then they will have just a 25% chance of the child turning out to be a redhead.
How do I know if I carry the redhead gene?
If you don't have the recessive Red gene none of your offspring will have red hair but all of them will carry the red gene from their dad so red-headed grandchildren are on the cards. If you do have the recessive red gene then 1 in 4 of your children will be redheads.
Can you get red hair from your parents?
So what does that all mean for your chances of having a red-headed child? Since you need two pieces of “red hair” DNA to have red hair, your child will only have red hair if they receive “red hair” DNA from both parents. Even if you don't have red hair, you can still pass on a red hair allele to your child!
Will 2 redheads have a redheaded baby?
For a recessive trait to be expressed the individual must be pure breeding, hence two red heads can not produce any other colour in a child. If red hair is dominant, the chances are one in four that a child will NOT be a red head if mum and dad are both ginger nuts.
How can you tell if a baby will have red hair?
If you have Irish or Scottish ancestry, the chances of your baby being born with red hair are more likely. This is especially true if both parents share this heritage. If not, it is very unlikely that your child will have fiery red locks or even red tones. But remember that red hair originated as a mutation.
Can two redheads have a brunette child?
Turns out, whether or not you are a ginger is not determined by the simple genetics of a single gene. In fact, the pigment that causes red hair is likely present in many brunettes.
How rare is red hair and green eyes?
One study found that the red hair-green eyes genetic combination is one of the rarest, at -0.14 correlation. Having red hair and blue eyes is even rarer.
How rare is red hair and blue eyes?
And when you meet a red head with blue eyes, you are looking at the rarest colour combination of all for human beings. Around 17 per cent of people have blue eyes, and when combined with 1-2 per cent having red hair, the odds of having both traits are around 0.17 per cent.
What color eyes do most redheads have?
Blue eyes and red hair forms the rarest combo on earth. Most (natural) redheads will have brown eyes, followed by hazel or green shades.
Is red hair dominant over blonde?
Red hair is not actually a recessive gene (like blonde is), but is rather an "incomplete dominant." In the world of genes, there are dominant genes, which take over any recessive gene (brown, black), recessive genes (blonde), which will be taken over by any dominant gene, or incomplete dominent genes (red).
How rare is strawberry blonde hair?
Strawberry Blonde Hair Having natural strawberry blonde hair is very uncommon, considering the fact that somewhere between 0.5% and 5% of the world's total population has such a hair color.
Why does red hair hurt?
Increased pain sensation. People who have red hair are more sensitive to pain caused by burns and freezing than people with brown hair. Studies performed by Edwin B. Liem at the National Institutes of Health demonstrated an increased sensation of pain caused by thermal changes, and an increased need for anesthetic.
How many alleles are there for red hair?
There are a number of different changes to the the gene that can cause red hair (over 30 alleles are known), and having 2 of the same allele or many different single allele changes can cause variations of red hair. It is likely you have a unique combination of alleles on the gene inherited from your family members.
How many copies of the recessive gene are needed to express the trait?
A person must have two copies of the recessive gene to express the trait. The chances of having a child with red hair depend on the genes of the parents. For simplicity’s sake, the various polymorphisms in the MC1R gene will be called the “red hair gene.”.
What is the case of brown hair?
Case 1: Parents with Brown Hair. In the first scenario, two parents have brown hair and do not carry any polymorphisms on the MC1R gene. In other words, neither of the parents is a carrier for the red hair gene. None of their children will have red hair, unless a new mutation arises spontaneously.
What is the gene responsible for determining hair color?
A complete absence of both pigments leads to white hair color. The gene responsible for determining hair color is called the Melanocortin 1 Receptor, or MC1R. If the MC1R gene is active, it produces eumelanin and a person will have darker skin and hair.
Why is my hair dark?
Answer: There are several genes that control hair color, so the unique combination of genes you obtained from your family lineage led to your dark hair. It is possible that you carry some alleles on the MC1R gene, since you come from a family with red hair, but your dark hair may be masking the red trait.
Where is the MC1R gene located?
The MC1R gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 16. Its official location is 16q24.3, and is 3,098 base pairs in length. Depending on the specific mutation (known as a polymorphism in the language of genetics), hair color will range from strawberry blond to auburn. The MC1R gene encodes a protein made up of 317 amino acids. Over 35 sites on the gene have been identified with polymorphisms, and only a small number of these mutations cause red hair shades.
What causes red hair?
Red Hair Facts. Skin and hair pigmentation is caused by two different kinds of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. The most common is eumelanin, a brown-black polymer responsible for dark hair and skin, and the tanning of light skin. Pheomelanin has a pink to red hue and is present in lips, nipples, and genitals.
Why is my hair red?
Red Hair Facts. Skin and hair pigmentation is caused by two different kinds of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin.
What did the R1B invaders do to the local people?
The R1b invaders took local women as wives and concubines, creating a new mixed ethnicity. The language evolved in consequence, adopting loanwords from the languages of Old Europe. This new ethnic and linguistic entity could be referred to as the Proto-Italo-Celto-Germanic people.
What was the result of the R1B invasion?
The archeological record indicates that this sustained series of invasions was extremely violent and led to the complete destruction of the until then flourishing civilizations of the Balkans and Carpathians. The R1b invaders took local women as wives and concubines, creating a new mixed ethnicity. The language evolved in consequence, adopting loanwords from the languages of Old Europe. This new ethnic and linguistic entity could be referred to as the Proto-Italo-Celto-Germanic people.
Why do redheads have a mutation?
The reason is that redheads have a mutation in a hormone receptor that can apparently respond to at least two different hormones: the melanocyte-stimulating hormone (for pigmentation) and endorphins (the pain relieving hormone). Folk wisdom has long described redheads as hot-tempered and short-tempered.
Where did the haplogroup R1B originate?
The origins of haplogroup R1b are complex, and shrouded in controversy to this day. The present author favours the theory of a Middle Eastern origin (a point upon which very few population geneticists disagree) followed by a migration to the North Caucasus and Pontic Steppe, serving as a starting point for a Bronze-age invasion of the Balkans, then Central and Western Europe. This theory also happens to be the only one that explains the presence of red hair among the Udmurts, Central Asians and Tarim mummies.
How many people in Scotland have red hair?
In Scotland, approximately 13% of the population are redheads, although 40% carry at least one mutation. There are many kinds of red hair, some fairer, or mixed with blond ('strawberry blond'), some darker, like auburn hair, which is brown hair with a reddish tint. This is because some people only carry one or a few of the several possible MC1R ...
What is the genetic variant that causes red hair?
Instead, certain variants in the MC1R gene control the red pigmentation in the hair. The genetic variant that causes red shades of hair impacts other aspects of our health as well. Carrying the variant can cause an increased risk of melanoma as well as possibly impacting the way you respond to certain analgesics.
How many genes are involved in hair color?
Beyond the ‘red hair’ gene, predicting hair color from genetic data can be tricky. Here is a great article on 124 genes that influence hair color.
What are the two types of hair pigments?
There are two types of pigments for hair color: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin comes in either black or brown, with varying amounts responsible for ranges of hair color from blond (low eumelanin) to black (high eumelanin). Pheomelanin contributes to red and orange coloring.
What is the MC1R gene?
The MC1R gene is also linked to freckles and more moles on the skin. [ ref] Additionally, one MC1R variant ( rs1805008) has also been tied to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. [ ref]
What contributes to red and orange coloring?
Pheomelanin contributes to red and orange coloring.
Is MC1R a human gene?
MC1R isn’t just a human-specific gene; it causes pigmentation variation in animals from chickens to goats to carp. It is also thought to be involved in the browning reaction of cut apples being exposed to air. Beyond the ‘red hair’ gene, predicting hair color from genetic data can be tricky.
Does MC1R cause skin cancer?
The variant forms of MC1R are also thought to not activate DNA repair as well as the more common MC1R form. This leads to higher rates of mutations in the DNA of skin cells, possibly leading to skin cancer. [ ref]
What genetics cause red hair?
Natural hair colour within European populations is a complex genetic trait. Previous work has established that MC1R variants are the principal genetic cause of red hair colour, but with variable penetrance. Here, we have extensively mapped the genes responsible for hair colour in the white, British ancestry, participants in UK Biobank. MC1R only explains 73% of the SNP heritability for red hair in UK Biobank, and in fact most individuals with two MC1R variants have blonde or light brown hair. We identify other genes contributing to red hair, the combined effect of which accounts for ~90% of the SNP heritability. Blonde hair is associated with over 200 genetic variants and we find a continuum from black through dark and light brown to blonde and account for 73% of the SNP heritability of blonde hair. Many of the associated genes are involved in hair growth or texture, emphasising the cellular connections between keratinocytes and melanocytes in the determination of hair colour.
Why do blondes have a gradient?
Scientists say there is a gradient of colour from black, through dark brown to light brown and blonde, which is caused by increasing number of genetic differences in these 200 genes.
What causes red hair?
Most red hair is caused by the MC1R gene and is non-pathological. However, in rare cases red hair can be associated with disease or genetic disorder: 1 In cases of severe malnutrition, normally dark human hair may turn red or blonde. The condition, part of a syndrome known as kwashiorkor, is a sign of critical starvation caused chiefly by protein deficiency, and is common during periods of famine. 2 One variety of albinism (Type 3, a.k.a. rufous albinism), sometimes seen in Africans and inhabitants of New Guinea, results in red hair and red-colored skin. 3 Red hair is found on people lacking pro-opiomelanocortin.
Why is red hair rare?
Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in humans. The non-tanning skin associated with red hair may have been advantageous in far-northern climates where sunlight is scarce. Studies by Bodmer and Cavalli-Sforza (1976) hypothesized that lighter skin pigmentation prevents rickets in colder climates by encouraging higher levels of vitamin D production and also allows the individual to retain heat better than someone with darker skin. In 2000, Harding et al. concluded that red hair is not the result of positive selection but of a lack of negative selection. In Africa, for example, red hair is selected against because high levels of sun harm pale skin. However, in Northern Europe this does not happen, so redheads can become more common through genetic drift.
Why do redheads have a mutation?
The unexpected relationship of hair color to pain tolerance appears to exist because redheads have a mutation in a hormone receptor that can apparently respond to at least two types of hormones: the pigmentation-driving melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), and the pain-relieving endorphins. (Both derive from the same precursor molecule, POMC, and are structurally similar.) Specifically, redheads have a mutated melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene that produces an altered receptor for MSH. Melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment in skin and hair, use the MC1R to recognize and respond to MSH from the anterior pituitary gland. Melanocyte-stimulating hormone normally stimulates melanocytes to make black eumelanin, but if the melanocytes have a mutated receptor, they will make reddish pheomelanin instead. MC1R also occurs in the brain, where it is one of a large set of POMC-related receptors that are apparently involved not only in responding to MSH, but also in responses to endorphins and possibly other POMC-derived hormones. Though the details are not clearly understood, it appears that there is some crosstalk between the POMC hormones; this may explain the link between red hair and pain tolerance.
What is red hair?
Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair colour found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive allele on chromosome 16 that produces an altered version of the MC1R protein.
Where do redheads come from?
The Berber populations of Morocco and northern Algeria have occasional redheads. Red hair frequency is especially significant among the Riffians from Morocco and Kabyles from Algeria, respectively.
Which country has the highest number of red haired people per capita?
Ireland has the highest number of red-haired people per capita in the world with the percentage of those with red hair at around 10%.
Which region in Russia has the most redheaded people?
Victorian era ethnographers considered the Udmurt people of the Volga Region in Russia to be "the most red-headed men in the world". The Volga region still has one of the highest percentages of redheaded people. Red hair is also found amongst the Ashkenazi Jewish populations. In 1903, 5.6% of Polish Jews had red hair.
Why is my hair red?
As you might have guessed by now, red hair is caused by a genetic mutation. While some people might consider something like a genetic mutation to be a negative trait, that is certainly not the case with those individuals who possess red hair. It is interesting to note that the color actually appears because of proteins that are responsible ...
Where does red hair come from?
Most people have the idea that people with red hair originate from Ireland or Scotland, but they would actually be wrong in ...
How long has red hair been around?
The truth is, red hair has existed for a much longer period of time, dating all the way back to prehistoric times. So, if this is true, then how do people get red hair today?
How many people in Ireland have red hair?
This is probably because about ten percent of the population in Ireland has naturally red hair, with slightly fewer individuals in Scotland inheriting this specific genetic mutation. That's a lot of redheads. Despite the relatively low numbers of people who have red hair, even in those countries that are most associated with it, ...
Is red hair unique?
Despite the somewhat common ability for people in various parts of the world to carry this gene, hair that is red is still relatively unique. For many people who really want the color, it is now achieved with ease through artificial means by way of dye. However, anyone that can lay claim to hair that is naturally red should be proud ...
Can you have red hair without a family?
This can go on for many generations without anyone in the family actually having red hair, until at last, someone displays the characteristics of the genetic mutation.
Do people have red hair?
It might surprise you to learn that it is more prevalent than assumed, if you consider that a lot of people who carry the genes for red hair are carriers who do not actually possess red hair themselves. Despite the somewhat common ability for people in various parts of the world to carry this gene, hair that is red is still relatively unique.
Why do redheads have red hair?
Though there's no scientific evidence that redheads deserve their reputation for having fiery temperaments, some recent reports suggest having red hair is associated with a number of health issues. A study from the journal Nature found that the pigment pheomelanin, which is responsible for red hair, may also make redheads even more susceptible to melanoma than fair-skinned blondes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
How rare is red hair?
Worldwide, red hair is quite rare, and just over 0.5 percent, or one in 200 people, are redheads — this amounts to almost 40 million people, the Daily Mail reports.
What is the gene that causes redheadedness?
The test will scan each parent's DNA for signs of the so-called MC1R gene that causes redheadedness.
How many people have red hair?
Worldwide, red hair is quite rare, and just over 0.5 percent, or one in 200 people, are redheads — this amounts to almost 40 million people, the Daily Mail reports. In Ireland, an estimated 10 percent of the population has red hair, though about 40 percent of the Irish carry the recessive gene. In Scotland and England, 13 percent ...
Is the redhead gene recessive?
The redhead gene is recessive and can skip several generations. (Image credit: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-578260p1.html">Thaiview</a> | <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/">Shutterstock</a>) Some parents worry that their children will be born with a rare disease or a hidden genetic disorder.
Do redheads need anesthesia?
And a widely reported study from the Journal of the American Dentistry Association found that redheads are more sensitive to pain and require extra anesthesia during surgery , according to ABC News. But there may be some advantages to having red hair, too, EverydayHealth.com reports.
Genetics
Effects
Risks
Characteristics
Appearance
Health
Clinical significance
- Proopiomelanocortin deficiency (POMC) is a genetic disease resulting in obesity, adrenal insufficiency, and red hair. Children with this genetic disorder exhibit early onset severe obesity and striking red hair, due to the effects the POMC gene has on ACTH production and the influence this gene has on the phaeomelanin:eumelanin ratio in cells.
Variations
Cultural references
Conservation status
The 45th Parallel, A Natural Boundary For Red hair?
Where Did Red Hair First Arise?
- It has been suggested that red hair could have originated in Paleolithic Europe, especially since Neanderthal also had red hair. The only Neanderthal specimen tested so far (from Croatia) did not carry the same MC1R mutation responsible for red hair in modern humans (the mutation in question in known as Arg307Gly). But since Neanderthals evolved al...
A Possible Neanderthal Link?
Red Hair and The Indo-European Migrations
Read This Article in Other Languages