In their first attempts to genetically engineer a cow that will make and secrete human growth hormones in milk, scientists found that they could insert the growth hormone gene into an embryonic calf. When the calf matures, it produces the hormone. However, they discovered that the altered gene gets lost from the genome during meiosis. What is the best explanation of what will happen in a population of genetically altered cows?

A. The cows will reproduce, but only males will reproduce the altered gene.

B. The cows will not reproduce because only females will reproduce the altered gene.

C. The cows will reproduce, but neither males nor females will reproduce the altered gene.

D. The cows will not reproduce because neither males nor females will reproduce the altered gene.