Magical Genetics

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 44348

First, HEY MOONSTRUCK! You have noticed people pointing out that 
Severus Snape is an anagram of Perseus Evans? Sometimes they suggest 
he changed his name to Severus Snape when he had adequately disgraced 
his birth-name Perseus Evans with Death Eating. Personally, I don't 
think Snape is related to the Evanses at all.

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "corinthum" <kkearney at s...> wrote:

> Possibility #1: a single magic allele
> Being that squibs are rare, I assume that the magic allele is the 
> dominant one, M. 

 Corinth:

<< Possibility #1: a single magic allele. Being that squibs are rare, 
I assume that the magic allele is the dominant one, M. >>

Excuse me, I think it is more likely that if magic were one gene-
pair, that magic would be the RECESSIVE allele. Thus, any magic 
person must be double-recessive, thus any child of two magical 
parents would be magic (mm * mm = mm, as you know). The exception, 
non-magic child of two magic parents, Squibs, are extremely rare; to 
me, extremely rare MIGHT mean once in a generation. Rare enough that 
they could all be the result of a birth defect or mistaken paternity. 

Heterozygous people (Mm) would be Muggles, but two heterozygous 
people would have children in the famous pattern 25% MM, 25% Mm, 25% 
Mm, 25%mm = 75% Muggle and 25% Magic. That would account for there 
being quite a few magic children of Muggle parents, and some of them 
being siblings.

However, I have a MUCH MORE COMPLICATED theory of inheritance of 
magic, which I explained in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/41509 -- 
"In my theory, the inheritance of magic is partly genetic and partly 
magical. I suggest that in general, there are a whole bunch of pairs 
of recessive genes that usually combine to make a person magical. How 
many of these pairs a person is double-recessive for, and which ones, 
would influence or control how strong their magic power is, and what 
forms of magic they are most talented at. 

But I also suggest that there is also a Magic that keeps the total 
number of wizarding people constant. When a wizard or witch dies, 
their magic goes to the next suitable child born in their area. 
Suitability would be a combination of the genes and of being 
surrounded by magic at the time. " and it goes on.