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Ch. 14 - Mendel and the Gene
Freeman - Biological Science 7th Edition
Freeman7th EditionBiological ScienceISBN: 9783584863285Not the one you use?Change textbook
All textbooksFreeman 7th EditionCh. 14 - Mendel and the GeneProblem 16c
Chapter 14, Problem 16c

You have crossed two Drosophila melanogaster individuals that have long wings and red eyes—the wild-type phenotype. In the progeny, curved wings and lozenge eyes mutant phenotypes appear as follows: What is the genotype of the female parent?

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Examine the phenotypes of the progeny: The progeny includes individuals with long wings and red eyes, curved wings and red eyes, long wings and lozenge eyes, and curved wings and lozenge eyes.
Identify the phenotypes that are considered wild-type and mutant: Long wings and red eyes are wild-type, while curved wings and lozenge eyes are mutant phenotypes.
Determine the inheritance pattern: Since both curved wings and lozenge eyes appear in the progeny, these traits are likely recessive. The presence of these traits in the progeny suggests that the female parent carries alleles for both mutant traits.
Analyze the progeny ratios: The progeny ratio suggests a typical Mendelian inheritance pattern, indicating that the female parent is heterozygous for both traits. This means she carries one allele for the wild-type trait and one allele for the mutant trait for both wing shape and eye color.
Conclude the genotype of the female parent: Based on the analysis, the female parent is likely heterozygous for both traits, meaning her genotype is likely 'WwLl', where 'W' represents the allele for long wings, 'w' for curved wings, 'L' for red eyes, and 'l' for lozenge eyes.

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Key Concepts

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

Drosophila melanogaster Genetics

Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly, is a model organism in genetics. Its simple genetic structure and short life cycle make it ideal for studying inheritance patterns. Traits such as wing shape and eye color are often used to illustrate Mendelian genetics, where dominant and recessive alleles determine phenotypes.
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Genetic Code

Phenotype and Genotype

Phenotype refers to the observable characteristics of an organism, such as wing shape and eye color, while genotype refers to the genetic makeup that determines these traits. In this case, the wild-type phenotype (long wings and red eyes) is dominant, and the presence of mutant phenotypes indicates the underlying genotypes of the parents.
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Genotype & Phenotype

Mendelian Inheritance

Mendelian inheritance describes the patterns of inheritance for traits controlled by single genes with dominant and recessive alleles. The ratios of phenotypes in the progeny can be analyzed to infer the genotypes of the parents. In this scenario, the appearance of mutant phenotypes suggests that the female parent may carry recessive alleles for curved wings and lozenge eyes.
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Polygenic Inheritance
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Two mothers give birth to sons at the same time in a busy hospital. The son of couple 1 is afflicted with hemophilia A, which is a recessive X-linked disease. Neither parent has the disease. Couple 2 has a normal son even though the father has hemophilia A. The two couples sue the hospital in court, claiming that a careless staff member swapped their babies at birth. You appear in court as an expert witness. What do you tell the jury? Make a diagram that you can submit to the jury.

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Textbook Question

You have crossed two Drosophila melanogaster individuals that have long wings and red eyes—the wild-type phenotype. In the progeny, curved wings and lozenge eyes mutant phenotypes appear as follows According to these data, is the curved-wing allele autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, sex-linked recessive, or sex-linked dominant?

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Textbook Question

You have crossed two Drosophila melanogaster individuals that have long wings and red eyes—the wild-type phenotype. In the progeny, curved wings and lozenge eyes mutant phenotypes appear as follows. Is the lozenge-eyed allele autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, sex-linked recessive, or sex-linked dominant?

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Textbook Question

You have crossed two Drosophila melanogaster individuals that have long wings and red eyes—the wild-type phenotype. In the progeny, curved wings and lozenge eyes mutant phenotypes appear as follows: What is the genotype of the male parent?

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Textbook Question
Recall that hemophilia is an X-linked recessive disease. If a woman with hemophilia had children with a man without hemophilia, what is the chance that their first child will have the disease? What is the chance that their first child will be a carrier?
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