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Ch. 4 - Extensions of Mendelian Genetics
Klug - Concepts of Genetics  12th Edition
Klug12th EditionConcepts of Genetics ISBN: 9780135564776Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 4, Problem 25

In Drosophila, an X-linked recessive mutation, scalloped (sd), causes irregular wing margins. Diagram the F₁ and F₂ results if (a) a scalloped female is crossed with a normal male; (b) a scalloped male is crossed with a normal female. Compare these results with those that would be obtained if the scalloped gene were autosomal.

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Step 1: Define the alleles and their inheritance pattern. Since the mutation 'scalloped (sd)' is X-linked recessive, denote the normal allele as X\^SD and the mutant allele as X\^sd. Males have one X and one Y chromosome (XY), females have two X chromosomes (XX). The mutant phenotype appears only when the recessive allele is present on all X chromosomes in females (X\^sd X\^sd) or on the single X chromosome in males (X\^sd Y).
Step 2: For cross (a), a scalloped female (X\^sd X\^sd) is crossed with a normal male (X\^SD Y). Set up the Punnett square for the F₁ generation by combining the female gametes (X\^sd) with the male gametes (X\^SD and Y). Determine the genotypes and phenotypes of the F₁ offspring, noting which are males and females and their wing phenotypes.
Step 3: For the F₂ generation in cross (a), cross the F₁ individuals among themselves (considering their genotypes from step 2). Set up Punnett squares for female and male offspring separately, and determine the expected genotypic and phenotypic ratios for both sexes.
Step 4: For cross (b), a scalloped male (X\^sd Y) is crossed with a normal female (X\^SD X\^SD). Set up the Punnett square for the F₁ generation by combining the male gametes (X\^sd and Y) with the female gametes (X\^SD). Determine the genotypes and phenotypes of the F₁ offspring.
Step 5: Compare the results from crosses (a) and (b) with the scenario where the scalloped gene is autosomal recessive. For autosomal inheritance, both males and females have two copies of the gene, so set up Punnett squares accordingly for each cross and note differences in phenotypic ratios and sex-specific expression.

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Key Concepts

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

X-linked Recessive Inheritance

X-linked recessive traits are caused by mutations on the X chromosome and typically affect males more than females because males have only one X chromosome. Females must inherit two copies of the recessive allele to express the trait, while males express it if they inherit one mutated X. This pattern influences the phenotypic ratios in crosses involving sex chromosomes.
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X-Inactivation

Sex Chromosome Inheritance in Drosophila

In Drosophila, females have two X chromosomes (XX) and males have one X and one Y chromosome (XY). Males inherit their X chromosome from their mother and Y from their father, while females inherit one X from each parent. This inheritance pattern affects how X-linked traits are passed and expressed in offspring.
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Human Sex Chromosomes

Autosomal vs. Sex-linked Gene Inheritance

Autosomal genes are located on non-sex chromosomes and follow Mendelian inheritance with equal expression in both sexes. In contrast, sex-linked genes, like X-linked ones, show different inheritance patterns and phenotypic ratios between males and females. Comparing these patterns helps distinguish the chromosomal location of a gene.
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Sex-Linked Genes
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Five human matings (1–5), identified by both maternal and paternal phenotypes for ABO and MN blood-group antigen status, are shown on the left side of the following table:

Each mating resulted in one of the five offspring shown in the right-hand column (a–e). Match each offspring with one correct set of parents, using each parental set only once. Is there more than one set of correct answers?

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Textbook Question

A husband and wife have normal vision, although both of their fathers are red–green color-blind, an inherited X-linked recessive condition. What is the probability that their first child will be (a) a normal son, (b) a normal daughter, (c) a color-blind son, (d) a color-blind daughter?

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Textbook Question

In humans, the ABO blood type is under the control of autosomal multiple alleles. Color blindness is a recessive X-linked trait. If two parents who are both type A and have normal vision produce a son who is color-blind and is type O, what is the probability that their next child will be a female who has normal vision and is type O?

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Textbook Question

Another recessive mutation in Drosophila, ebony (e), is on an autosome (chromosome 3) and causes darkening of the body compared with wild-type flies. What phenotypic F₁ and F₂ male and female ratios will result if a scalloped-winged female with normal body color is crossed with a normal-winged ebony male?

Work out this problem by both the Punnett square method and the forked-line method.

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Textbook Question

In Drosophila, the X-linked recessive mutation vermilion (v) causes bright red eyes, in contrast to the brick-red eyes of wild type. A separate autosomal recessive mutation, suppressor of vermilion (su-v), causes flies homozygous or hemizygous for v to have wild-type eyes. In the absence of vermilion alleles, su-v has no effect on eye color. Determine the F₁ and F₂ phenotypic ratios from a cross between a female with wild-type alleles at the vermilion locus, but who is homozygous for su-v, with a vermilion male who has wild-type alleles at the su-v locus.

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Textbook Question

While vermilion is X-linked in Drosophila and causes the eye color to be bright red, brown is an autosomal recessive mutation that causes the eye to be brown. Flies carrying both mutations lose all pigmentation and are white-eyed. Predict the F₁ and F₂ results of the following crosses:

vermilion females x brown males

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