Assume that a mutation occurs in the gene responsible for the production of hexosaminidase a, such that only about 50% of the enzyme activity is found in the heterozygote compared with a homozygous normal individual. if heterozygotes are phenotypically normal, we would say that the mutant allele is recessive to its normal allele.

This statement is true.

In the case of autosomal dominant disease, the person is either homozygous (which is very rare) or heterozygous. On the molecular level, either the mutation produced a new deleterious protein for the organism, or the mutation affected an existing protein in the physiological state and that a 50% activity is not enough to compensate for the needs. of the body.

In case of autosomal recessive disease, the sick person is always homozygous. If the two loci each have a different mutant allele, it is called a "composite heterozygote". People with autosomal recessive inheritance disorder have "mandatory heterozygote" parents.

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