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Ch, 15 - The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Campbell - Campbell Biology 11th Edition
Urry11th EditionCampbell BiologyISBN: 9789357423311Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 15, Problem 3

A wild-type fruit fly (heterozygous for gray body color and normal wings) is mated with a black fly with vestigial wings. The offspring have the following phenotypic distribution: wild-type, 778; black vestigial, 785; black normal, 158; gray vestigial, 162. What is the recombination frequency between these genes for body color and wing size? Is this consistent with the results of the experiment in Figure 15.9?
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Identify the parental phenotypes and genotypes. The wild-type fruit fly is heterozygous for gray body color and normal wings, while the black fly with vestigial wings is homozygous recessive for both traits.
Determine the genotypes of the offspring. The wild-type offspring (778) and black vestigial offspring (785) represent the parental phenotypes, while the black normal (158) and gray vestigial (162) offspring represent the recombinant phenotypes.
Calculate the total number of offspring by adding all the phenotypic counts: 778 + 785 + 158 + 162.
Calculate the recombination frequency using the formula: \( \text{Recombination Frequency} = \frac{\text{Number of Recombinant Offspring}}{\text{Total Number of Offspring}} \times 100 \). Substitute the number of recombinant offspring (black normal and gray vestigial) and the total number of offspring into the formula.
Compare the calculated recombination frequency with the results of the experiment in Figure 15.9 to determine consistency. Consider the expected recombination frequency based on genetic linkage and map distance.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Genetic Linkage

Genetic linkage refers to the tendency of genes located close to each other on a chromosome to be inherited together during meiosis. This concept is crucial for understanding why certain traits appear together in offspring more frequently than expected by independent assortment. In this question, linkage between body color and wing size genes affects the phenotypic distribution of the offspring.
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Recombination Frequency

Recombination frequency is a measure of the likelihood that two genes will be separated during crossing over in meiosis. It is calculated as the number of recombinant offspring divided by the total number of offspring, expressed as a percentage. This concept helps determine the physical distance between genes on a chromosome, with higher frequencies indicating greater distances.
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Phenotypic Ratios

Phenotypic ratios describe the relative numbers of different phenotypes observed in offspring, which can provide insights into genetic inheritance patterns. In this question, the phenotypic distribution of wild-type, black vestigial, black normal, and gray vestigial flies helps identify recombination events and assess genetic linkage between the traits of body color and wing size.
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Genotypic vs. Phenotypic Ratio
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Using the information from problem 4, scientists do a further testcross using a heterozygote for height and nose morphology. The offspring are tall upturned snout, 40; dwarf upturned snout, 9; dwarf downturned snout, 42; tall downturned snout, 9. Calculate the recombination frequency from these data, and then use your answer from problem 4 to determine the correct order of the three linked genes.

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Textbook Question

A wild-type fruit fly (heterozygous for gray body color and red eyes) is mated with a black fruit fly with purple eyes. The offspring are wild-type, 721; black purple, 751; gray purple, 49; black red, 45. What is the recombination frequency between these genes for body color and eye color? Using information from problem 3, what fruit flies (genotypes and phenotypes) would you mate to determine the order of the body color, wing size, and eye color genes on the chromosome?

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Textbook Question

Pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy is an inherited disorder that causes gradual deterioration of the muscles. It is seen almost exclusively in boys born to apparently unaffected parents and usually results in death in the early teens. Is this disorder caused by a dominant or a recessive allele? Is its inheritance sex-linked or autosomal? How do you know? Explain why this disorder is almost never seen in girls.

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Textbook Question

A man with hemophilia (a recessive, sex-linked condition) has a daughter without the condition. She marries a man who does not have hemophilia. What is the probability that their daughter will have hemophilia? Their son? If they have four sons, what is the probability that all will be affected?

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Textbook Question

A planet is inhabited by creatures that reproduce with the same hereditary patterns seen in humans. Three phenotypic characters are height (T=tall,t=dwart), head appendages (A=antennae,a=no antennae), and nose morphology (S=upturned snout,s=downturned snout). Since the creatures are not 'intelligent,' Earth scientists are able to do some controlled breeding experiments using various heterozygotes in testcrosses. For tall heterozygotes with antennae, the offspring are tall antennae, 46; dwarf antennae, 7; dwarf no antennae, 42; tall no antennae, 5. For heterozygotes with antennae and an upturned snout, the offspring are antennae upturned snout, 47; antennae downturned snout, 2; no antennae downturned snout, 48; no antennae upturned snout, 3. Calculate the recombination frequencies for both experiments.

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