The genetic mystery of a Chinese couple giving birth to a 'mixed-race doll' child

A Han Chinese couple in Jiangsu were surprised to welcome a daughter with blonde hair and blue eyes, a result of intergenerational inheritance from a Russian great-great-grandparent.

The story of a baby girl with a "mixed-race doll" appearance, despite her parents being ethnically Asian, has garnered over 110 million views on the social media platform Weibo, according to Sing Tao Headlines on 5/12.

The Chinese father and his biracial daughter. Photo: Weibo

The father stated that when his daughter turned one year old, the significant difference in her appearance compared to the rest of the family led him to suspect the hospital had mistakenly swapped their child. The past three generations of their family exhibited typical East Asian features: black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin. However, DNA test results confirmed the child was biologically theirs.

Tracing his family tree, the father discovered that the baby's great-great-grandparent was of Slavic (Russian) descent. After many generations that produced only male offspring with Han Chinese characteristics, the recessive gene from the great-great-grandparent unexpectedly reappeared in his great-granddaughter. According to experts, the girl carries approximately one-sixteenth Slavic bloodline.

Yangcheng Evening News reported that this phenomenon is known as Intergenerational Inheritance. Geneticists explain that black hair and black eyes are dominant genes, which are easily expressed, while blonde hair and blue eyes belong to a group of recessive genes, typically suppressed. While the rules of recessive genes are fundamental to genetics, the reappearance of a contrasting physical trait after many generations is a rare occurrence, requiring a very low probability of gene recombination.

The event is likened to a game of chance, like flipping a coin. While previous generations consistently landed on heads (dominant genes), the girl's gene combination randomly landed on tails (recessive genes). This illustrates the complexity and randomness inherent in genetic inheritance, where traits can "hide" for extended periods before the necessary conditions align for their reappearance.