What are color blindness genetic chromosome mutation?

Color blindness

Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency, is a common genetic condition that affects how a person perceives colors. People with color blindness have difficulty distinguishing between certain colors, particularly red and green, or blue and yellow.

Color blindness is usually caused by a mutation in one or more of the genes that code for the proteins that are responsible for detecting color in the retina of the eye. These proteins, called photopigments, are located in cone cells, which are specialized cells that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light.

1) The most common type of color blindness is red-green color blindness, which is caused by a mutation in the gene that codes for the red or green photopigment. This type of color blindness affects about 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women.

2) Another common type of color blindness is blue-yellow color blindness, which is caused by a mutation in the gene that codes for the blue photopigment. This type of color blindness is much rarer than red-green color blindness, affecting about 1 in 10,000 people.

3) Other, less common, types of color blindness include:

- total color blindness (achromatopsia),

- monochromatism,

- cone monochromacy, and

- blue cone monochromacy.

Achromatopsia is the complete absence of color vision, while monochromatism is the condition of having only one type of cone cell, which results in seeing the world in shades of one color. Cone monochromacy is a condition in which only one cone photopigment is functional, resulting in difficulty distinguishing between colors within the affected range. Blue cone monochromacy is a rare condition in which only the blue cone photopigment functions, leading to severe blue-yellow color blindness.

Color blindness is usually inherited in an autosomal dominant or X-linked recessive manner. Autosomal dominant means that only one copy of the mutated gene is needed to cause the condition, while X-linked recessive means that two copies of the mutated gene are needed, and males are more commonly affected than females.

In the case of red-green color blindness, the mutated gene is located on the X chromosome. This means that males, who have only one X chromosome, are more likely to be affected by color blindness than females, who have two X chromosomes.

Color blindness is typically diagnosed with an eye exam that includes color vision testing.** There is no cure for color blindness, but there are special glasses and contact lenses that can help people with color blindness distinguish between colors.