If your parents have blue eyes. How to find out the eye color of your unborn child

Since ancient times, poets have praised real men and beautiful women in their works. Moreover, as soon as it came to appearance, the main element of the image remained the eyes: mysterious green, deep blue, alluring brown, cold gray. For many thousands of years, a variety of magicians, shamans and priests have tried to unravel the mystery of the eye color that a particular person gets.

Today everything is much simpler. Modern scientists are quite likely to be able to predict what eye color a child will have. So, in more detail.

What eye color will the child have, or genetic predisposition?

More than a hundred years ago, Gregor Mendel (a learned monk) discovered a special law of research. They proved that black (brown) color is the dominant color in nature. In a word, a baby with blonde parents will most likely be born fair. But if dad or mom has dark hair, then in most cases the baby is born dark-haired. The same applies to the question of what eye color the child will have.

Possible options

So, in most cases, if you believe the basic formulas, it turns out something like this. Parents with blue eyes usually give birth to a baby with eyes of the same color. This is quite natural. If one parent has green eyes and the other has brown eyes, most likely the child will have brown eyes, although there is a small chance that they will be green. In rare cases, blue-eyed babies are also born as an exception. If one of the parents Blue eyes, and the other has brown or green, the child will be born with brown in the first case and with green in the second. Brown and green colors. In most cases, green-eyed children are born to green-eyed parents. Although sometimes the eye color can be blue. Brown-eyed children almost always have brown eyes. Although, as an exception, there are also green eyes, and in the rarest cases blue.

In a word, it is not so difficult to determine what eye color a child will have. Therefore, you can be 90% sure of this even before birth.

Eye color may change

Thus, it becomes absolutely clear which parent the future baby will be more like. You can bet on what eye color your baby will get before birth, but as soon as the baby is born, pay attention to the pigmentation of his iris. She will most likely cross the finish line in a year or even two. During a routine examination at two months of age, parents often ask the doctor what eye color the child will have. In fact, the answer to this question can be wrong. Although most often the guarantee is almost one hundred percent.

In a word, brown or dark green eyes, as a rule, remain dark. This is what happens most often. Lighter ones (gray or blue) can behave completely unpredictably. During the first three months they change their shade many times. After this, the approximate direction in which the color will develop is already determined. It will darken to its final shade by six to twelve months.

Don't worry if your eye color is different from yours

In general, every family that is expecting a child is very interested in who the future baby will be more like, whose character he will inherit, facial features and, finally, what color of the child’s eyes you will see at birth.

Most importantly, don't worry if it looks different from your dad's or mom's. It's not scary at all. In newborns, the eye color is often different from what it will be as soon as the baby grows a little. One can speak with certainty about a permanently established shade only at the age of one, and preferably at about three years of age.

Grandparents gene

What color a child’s eyes should be is determined not only by looking at his parents; a lot also depends on the genes of his grandparents. The child often resembles the third generation in the family, or maybe the fourth or even the fifth.

Not so long ago it became known that the main colors and shades of the eyes differ in the polygenic feature of the heritage, the types and number of pigments concentrated in the iris. Its pigmentation, as it turned out, depends on six different genes. This gives a considerable variety of shades and colors.

However, this question has been open for several years, that is, it is a rather serious problem in the debates of geneticists. They conduct various studies to find out the direct relationship various factors to determine color.

No one can give one hundred percent certainty

However, one can be guided by a wide variety of assumptions and schemes. However, it is impossible to say with one hundred percent certainty what color the eyes of newborn children will have in the future.

Once again, it is worth recalling that the shade is mainly determined by the genes of the child’s parents. A secondary role is given to the third and fourth generations. Of course, gene dark color the eye will dominate over light shades - they are much weaker. Therefore, if, for example, dad has brown eyes and mom has blue eyes, a daughter or son will most likely be born with brown ones. However, if both parents are light-eyed, the baby can have eyes of any light shade, no matter what color.

That seems to be all. But in any case, you should not perceive the baby’s eye color as already established and determined. As the child grows, it will most likely change.

Eyes are the mirror of the soul. Probably everyone has heard this expression. But what is hidden behind this mirror? For thousands of years, sorcerers and witches have tried to unravel the mystery of eye color. Some eye colors were worshiped, others, on the contrary, were declared “witchy”. Today everything has become much simpler and more prosaic. Genetic scientists can most likely predict what eye color a child will have based on the eye color of his parents. Let's look at this issue in more detail.

Eye color is inherited by a child from its parents according to Mendel's basic laws and is determined by the amount of melanin pigment in the iris. This same pigment, by the way, is responsible for hair color, as well as for human skin tone. Among the various spectrum of colors and shades, at one pole there will be blue eyes (the amount of melanin in them is very low), and at the other - brown eyes (the amount of melanin is maximum). In the interval between these poles all other colors are located.

Define future color Eyes are possible, but don’t be surprised if the newborn turns out to have eyes that don’t look like either mom or dad.

Interestingly, 90% of babies are born blue-eyed. As they age, their irises will change color.

This happens because melanin will be produced and accumulated in it until the eyes acquire the shade that is genetically determined. This happens at about one year of age, but it is better to talk with certainty about the final eye color at 3-4 years.

The influence of genetics on a child's eye color

According to the basic laws of genetics, the color of the iris is determined by six different genes. Among them there are dominant genes, that is, stronger ones. Those external signs, for which they are responsible, take superiority and manifest themselves in appearance. There are recessive genes. They are weaker. And although these genes are present in the genotype, they may not appear in appearance.

It is traditionally believed that genes for dark colors are dominant, and genes for light colors are recessive.

However, it is a mistake to think that a child with brown-eyed parents will definitely have Brown eyes. The fact is that the baby copies two versions of one gene (they are called alleles): one from the mother, the second from the father. In each such pair, one allele will necessarily be dominant, but the child may also receive a recessive allele. And the trait transmitted by him can appear in appearance even after a generation. Therefore, grandparents can also contribute to the formation of the baby’s eye color.

The genes that transmit eye color interact with each other according to certain patterns, knowing which, you can find out the eye color of the unborn child even before his birth with an accuracy of 90%.

Interaction of genes that determine eye color

As can be seen from the table, it is possible to predict with maximum accuracy that blue-eyed parents will have a child with blue eyes. And only 1% allow a green-eyed miracle to appear in such a family. But this chance immediately increases to 50% if in a pair one parent has blue eyes and the other has green eyes. A child with a combination of brown and blue eyes will have the same chances.

But even if both parents are green-eyed, it cannot be guaranteed that this eye color will be passed on to their baby. This probability is only 75%. Another 24% is given to blue eyes, and there is even a 1% chance of having a brown-eyed baby.

Mom has brown eyes and dad has green eyes? In half the cases the child will be brown-eyed. But the possibility that he will pass on his father’s green eyes is not so small: as much as 37.5%. And again, an unexpected result is possible! 12.5% ​​allow such a couple to have a blue-eyed baby.

If both parents have brown eyes, then in 75% of cases the child also inherits this iris color. Another 19% may have the gene responsible for the formation of green eyes, and only 6% of babies may turn out to be blue-eyed.

Therefore, it is difficult to make any predictions about a child’s eye color. The debate among geneticists on this topic has not yet subsided. The most experienced specialists can give the correct answer to this exciting question only in 90% of cases.

• Since melanin is produced under the influence sun rays, eye color even depends on what country a person was born in. The less sun, the lighter eyes and hair.
• Green is the most rare color eye on Earth. And the fact that the gene transmitting it is recessive suggests that the number green eyed people will only shrink.
• Brown eye color is the most common in the world. But the Baltic countries are an exception.
• In purebred Russians, the most common eye colors are gray and blue.
• All people with blue eyes are descended from a common ancestor. It has been established that 6000-10000 years ago blue eyed people didn't happen, and then it happened genetic mutation, which led to the emergence blue color eye. Most blue-eyed people live in Northern Europe and the Baltic countries. For example, in Estonia, there are 99% of them.
• Yellow eye color (amber) is called “wolf eyes” because this rare eye color for humans is common among animals such as wolves, cats, owls, eagles, pigeons and fish.
• Eye color changes not only in babies, but also in older people. The eyes turn pale, “fade”, which is explained by the loss of transparency of the mesoderm layer.
• Red eye color in albinos is associated with complete absence melanin and is determined by blood in blood vessels irises.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the color of the eyes of an unborn child is determined only by nature. None traditional methods, signs, calculations of days of conception and horoscopes cannot be guaranteed to influence this process and activate the desired gene. Which means you shouldn’t trust them. And by and large, it doesn’t matter at all what color your baby’s eyes will be. The main thing is that he grows up healthy and happy. And this completely depends on you – the parents!

Most future parents want to quickly find out what their child will look like and who the baby will look like - mom or dad?

If facial features are difficult to predict, then eye color can be calculated even before the birth of a child; the science of genetics will help with this, which will give the optimal answer to the question of what eye color a daughter or son will have.

Eye color at birth

Almost all children, namely 90% of them, at birth have same color the eye is blue, and only the remaining 10% can be born with a different shade, which is due to the individuality of the organism and heredity.

The primary eye color remains in children up to 4 years of age, during which time it gradually changes, reaching the final shade. Cyan either stays blue, fades to gray, turns green, or darkens to brown.

There are several scientific hypotheses that explain such metamorphoses, the main one says that newborn children lack melanin, a coloring pigment that appears with age, and the shade of melanin depends on genetic predisposition.

Scientific assumptions

Previously, there were many different hypotheses that suggested how eye color is transmitted in a child, and what plays a dominant role in this. The most convincing hypothesis was the one that gave rise to Mendel's law. Mendel's law determines the color of the eyes and hair of the unborn child, based on the fact that dark genes are dominant. Phenotypes encoded by dark genes take over individual characteristics light genes.

Back in past centuries, scientists Mendel, Darwin and Lamarck described not only the pattern, but also exceptions to the basic rule.

Basic patterns:

• parents with dark eyes mostly give birth to brown-eyed children;
• the descendants of those whose eyes have light shades (blue or gray) will in the vast majority of cases inherit this distinctive feature;
• if father and mother have eyes different color, then the child’s eye shade will be between the parents’ and will be dark, since the dark gene is dominant.

From the above assumptions, it was formed modern science genetics, which today makes it possible to calculate the exact percentage of the characteristics of ancestors and descendants and find out what color the child’s eyes will be.

Probability percentage

Based on the characteristics of the parents’ appearance, it is possible to determine the probability, up to a percentage, of what kind of eyes the child will get. Let's look at the table:

For greater clarity, look at the picture.

If future parents are paying special attention to the issue of their child's eye color, they will probably be interested in the following facts:

• the most common eye color on Earth is brown;
• green is the rarest shade; only 2% of the planet's population has eyes of this color. Most green-eyed people are born in Turkey, but in Asian countries, South America and the Middle East, green eyes are very rare;
• Residents of the Caucasus have blue eyes, while Icelanders have predominantly green eyes.

Parents of the baby also need to know that sometimes the child may have a different eye color; this rare phenomenon is called. Do not be afraid of this, heterochromia is not a disease or any pathology, it is only an individual feature, albeit quite noticeable.

Future parents can already find out the color of their child's eyes already during the mother's pregnancy. This can be calculated using special genetic tables, which will be discussed in the article.

Genetic predisposition

Parents are encouraged to find out what kind of eyes the child will have even before his birth, although this will be approximately. In biology classes, we all studied about genetics, which determines the formation of facial features or other properties of the unborn child, including eye color. Science has proven that eye color corresponds to 6 genes, and not 2, as was previously believed. But even today it is difficult for parents to predict what color your child will be - you can only guess.

The theory of genetic formation of a child’s eye color suggests the following variations:

• There are 2 genes that have been well studied and by which the eye color of the unborn child can be determined. One of them is located on chromosome 15, and the other on chromosome 19. Both genes have 2 copies, one of which the child receives from the mother, and the second from the father.
• The gene on chromosome 15 carries the colors brown and blue; there can be varieties: 2 brown, 2 blue or 1 brown and 1 blue. 2 brown genes carry brown eye color, brown and blue also carry brown color, but 2 blue genes can carry blue or green. Brown color is dominant. For example, a brown-eyed woman and a blue-eyed or green-eyed man will only have brown-eyed children, but their grandchildren will receive an unpredictable color.
• The gene on chromosome 19 carries the colors green and blue. Cyan can also include shades of blue and gray. Green is dominant, blue is recessive. Blue eye color is caused by the highest gene on chromosome 15, so a person with two blue such genes may have different variations in the presence of gene 15. If he has at least 1 brown 15 gene, then his eyes, regardless of the 19 gene, will be brown. This is difficult, but this is genetics - with two green 19 genes the eye color will be green, with green and blue the result will be green again, and in the case of 2 blue genes it will be blue.

A simplified table is used to facilitate understanding.

Layout of the eye color of the unborn child

In order not to get confused in explaining the genome, an approximate general table was adopted in order to determine the eye color of the unborn child. According to her:

• 2 brown-eyed parents in 75% of cases will give birth to a brown-eyed child, in almost 19% of cases - green-eyed, and only in 6% of cases - blue-eyed.
• With brown-eyed and green-eyed parents, a child in 50% of cases will have brown eyes, in almost 38% of cases - green, and only in almost 13% - blue.
• A brown-eyed and blue-eyed parent will again have a brown-eyed child in 50% of cases, and a blue-eyed child in the remaining 50% of cases. A green-eyed child cannot be born to such parents in any case.
• Two green-eyed parents will give birth to a child with green eyes in 75% of cases, blue-eyed in 24% of cases, and brown-eyed in only 1% of cases.
• A green-eyed and blue-eyed parent will have equal chances of giving birth to a child with blue or green eyes; they cannot have a brown-eyed baby.
• Two blue-eyed parents will have a blue-eyed child in 99% of cases and a green-eyed child in only 1% of cases. Brown eyes cannot work here either.

Interesting facts include the following cases:

• The majority of the world's population is brown-eyed, and the least number of green-eyed people is observed - only 2% of the total number is observed, and green-eyed female children are most actively born in Turkey and Iceland.
• You can hardly find green-eyed people in Asian, South American and Middle Eastern countries, but blue eye color is very common among Caucasians.
• The formation of eye color is completed only by the age of 4, and all newborns are born with the same blue eye color, only for some it darkens or turns into other shades.
• Brown eyes are blue eyes covered with brown pigment. Modern medicine has reached the point where there is an operation to change eye color from brown to blue, although this will not affect the offspring.
• Some scientists believe that blue eye color is due to a genetic mutation, so all blue-eyed people have one common ancestor.
• Albinos have red eyes due to the lack of iris pigment.
• Black or yellow eyes are actually brown and green, respectively, but the rays falling on them reflect the color differently.

Thus, you can predict the eye color of your unborn child with a high degree of probability. In rare cases, children may be born with different colored irises in both eyes, but this is not a disease, just a unique feature.

Our eyes are said to be the window to the soul. They fully express our experiences, joys, secrets and desires. Since ancient times, eye color has been credited with special abilities to its owner. So, in the Middle Ages, a woman with green eyes could simply be sent to the stake, accused of witchcraft. And even now, beauties with brown eyes sometimes hear whispers behind their backs: “Her eyes are evil, she can jinx her.” You can imagine how many families have broken up because brown-eyed parents gave birth to a blue-eyed child. But such a science as genetics has put everything in its place.

So, what kind of eyes will the child have? Imagine a situation: a child is born with blue eyes, and by the age of 4, under the influence of sunlight, the eyes acquire a different color. It may be difficult to predict, but it is possible to explain the birth of “white crows”.

Genetics

And now a little about genetics. There are concepts of recessive and dominant genes that affect what eye color a child will have. So, a recessive gene is genetic information that is suppressed under the influence of a dominant gene and is not manifested in the phenotype. The manifestation of signs of a recessive gene is possible only if it is paired with the same recessive gene.

If a recessive gene is paired with a dominant one, then it does not appear, since the dominant gene suppresses it. The qualities that are determined by a recessive gene can be revealed in the phenotype of offspring only if it is paired with a certain recessive gene, that is, if this recessive gene is present in both parents. Let's take as an example the combination of parents of a Tatar man and a Russian woman, and why the result is a Tatar child, and not a combination of both parents. You can pay attention to the dominant and recessive signs of the eyes:

Determining eye color

You may ask: how can you determine the color of a child’s eyes if both parents have the same recessive and dominant genes? It's very simple, genetics did it for you a long time ago! Using a special tablet, you can see the likelihood of what kind of eyes your child will have:

• If both parents have brown eyes, the child has a 75% chance of brown eyes, 18.75% of green eyes, and 6.25% of blue eyes.
• If one of the parents is green-eyed and the other has brown eyes, the child has a 50% chance of brown eyes, 37.5% of green eyes, and 12.5% ​​of blue eyes.
• If one of the parents has blue eyes and the other has brown eyes, then the child will have either brown or blue eyes with an equality of 50%, and the appearance of a child with green eyes is almost impossible. With the exception of some genetic factors.
• If both parents have green eyes, the child’s chance of having green eyes is 75%, the chance that he will have blue eyes is 25%, and the chance of having brown eyes is negligible, but it still exists.
• If one parent has green eyes and the other has blue eyes, then the child has a 50/50% chance of being either green-eyed or blue-eyed, with no chance for brown eyes.
• Well, pairs of parents who both have blue eyes will produce a blue-eyed child with a 99% probability, and a green-eyed child with a 1% probability.

Sometimes, quite rarely, rare eye colors are found, such as black-yellow, or snake, gray-brown-green, or rainbow, but a rare genetic phenomenon - heterochromia, allows a person to be born with completely different eyes. Also, eye color may change in the case of certain diseases or childhood injuries.

And finally, the conclusion. In principle, the eye color of parents and children should match, but if it happens otherwise, don’t be nervous and accuse someone of cheating, perhaps you have dominant or recessive genes that you don’t even know about!