Inheritance Pattern of Earlobe Attachment amongst Nigerians

Study on inheritance pattern of earlobe attachment in populations is scanty and reported to be unclear in populations where attempts have been made. In this study however, the inheritance pattern of earlobe attachment in a Nigerian population was investigated using 760 Nigerians from 200 families with 400 parents and 360 offspring within the ages of 5months-60years. Photographs of earlobe attachment of the subjects were taken and observed according to respective families. The result was analysed using Chi-test to test the pattern of inheritance based on Mendellian fashion at 0.05 significant. The inheritance pattern of earlobe attachment amongst Nigerian was found to follow a simple dominant-recessive pattern with the detached dominant over the attached earlobe and do not differ among the tribes with no significant difference in gender distribution of the trait in the population. The Results obtained suggest that observation of pattern of earlobe attachment trait might be suitable for genetic analysis and can help in settling paternal dispute.