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Ch. 5 - Chromosome Mapping in Eukaryotes
Chapter 5, Problem 31b

Drosophila melanogaster has one pair of sex chromosomes (XX or XY) and three pairs of autosomes, referred to as chromosomes II, III, and IV. A genetics student discovered a male fly with very short (sh) legs. Using this male, the student was able to establish a pure breeding stock of this mutant and found that it was recessive. She then incorporated the mutant into a stock containing the recessive gene black (b, body color located on chromosome II) and the recessive gene pink (p, eye color located on chromosome III). A female from the homozygous black, pink, short stock was then mated to a wild-type male. The F₁ males of this cross were all wild type and were then backcrossed to the homozygous b, p, sh females. The F₂ results appeared as shown in the following table.
Table showing counts of female and male Drosophila offspring with wild, pink, black short, and black pink short phenotypes.
The student repeated the experiment, making the reciprocal cross, with F₁ females backcrossed to homozygous b, p, sh males. She observed that 85 percent of the offspring fell into the given classes, but that 15 percent of the offspring were equally divided among b + p, b + +, + sh p, and + sh + phenotypic males and females. How can these results be explained, and what information can be derived from the data?

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Step 1: Identify the genes and their chromosomal locations. The genes involved are black (b) on chromosome II, pink (p) on chromosome III, and short (sh) on the sex chromosome (X chromosome). The mutant alleles are recessive, and the wild-type alleles are dominant.
Step 2: Understand the crosses performed. A homozygous female for b, p, and sh was crossed with a wild-type male. The F₁ males were all wild type, indicating that the mutant alleles are recessive and that the short (sh) gene is likely X-linked since males inherit their X chromosome from their mother.
Step 3: Analyze the backcross of F₁ males to homozygous b, p, sh females. The phenotypic classes and their counts are given for both males and females. Use these counts to determine the recombination frequencies between the genes by comparing the number of recombinant phenotypes to the total offspring.
Step 4: Consider the reciprocal cross where F₁ females are backcrossed to homozygous b, p, sh males. The observation that 85% of offspring fall into the expected classes and 15% into unexpected recombinant classes suggests the occurrence of crossing over and possibly gene linkage. The equal division of the unexpected phenotypes among males and females indicates that recombination is occurring in females (since males do not undergo recombination in Drosophila).
Step 5: Calculate recombination frequencies between the genes using the formula \(\text{Recombination frequency} = \frac{\text{Number of recombinant offspring}}{\text{Total number of offspring}} \times 100\%\). Use these frequencies to map the relative positions of the genes on the chromosomes and confirm the X-linkage of the short (sh) gene.

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Key Concepts

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

Genetic Linkage and Recombination

Genetic linkage occurs when genes are located close together on the same chromosome and tend to be inherited together. Recombination during meiosis can separate linked genes, producing new allele combinations. The frequency of recombinant offspring helps map gene distances and order on chromosomes.
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Chi Square and Linkage

Sex-Linked and Autosomal Inheritance in Drosophila

Drosophila has sex chromosomes (XX female, XY male) and autosomes where most genes reside. Understanding which genes are on autosomes versus sex chromosomes is crucial for predicting inheritance patterns, especially when analyzing crosses involving sex-linked traits or autosomal recessive mutations.
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Sex-Linked Genes

Backcross and Reciprocal Cross Analysis

Backcrossing involves crossing a hybrid with a homozygous recessive parent to reveal linkage and recombination patterns. Reciprocal crosses, where the sexes of the parents are switched, help detect sex-linked inheritance or maternal effects. Deviations in expected ratios can indicate gene linkage, recombination, or other genetic phenomena.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

A female of genotype

produces 100 meiotic tetrads. Of these, 68 show no crossover events. Of the remaining 32, 20 show a crossover between a and b, 10 show a crossover between b and c, and 2 show a double crossover between a and b and between b and c. Of the 400 gametes produced, how many of each of the 8 different genotypes will be produced? Assuming the order a–b–c and the allele arrangement previously shown, what is the map distance between these loci?

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Textbook Question

In laboratory class, a genetics student was assigned to study an unknown mutation in Drosophila that had a whitish eye. He crossed females from his true-breeding mutant stock to wild-type (brick-red-eyed) males, recovering all wild-type F1 flies. In the F2 generation, the following offspring were recovered in the following proportions:

wild type: 5/8

bright red: 1/8

brown eye: 1/8

white eye: 1/8

The student was stumped until the instructor suggested that perhaps the whitish eye in the original stock was the result of homozygosity for a mutation causing brown eyes and a mutation causing bright red eyes, illustrating gene interaction. After much thought, the student was able to analyze the data, explain the results, and learn several things about the location of the two genes relative to one another. One key to his understanding was that crossing over occurs in Drosophila females but not in males. Based on his analysis, what did the student learn about the two genes?

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Textbook Question

Drosophila melanogaster has one pair of sex chromosomes (XX or XY) and three pairs of autosomes, referred to as chromosomes II, III, and IV. A genetics student discovered a male fly with very short (sh) legs. Using this male, the student was able to establish a pure breeding stock of this mutant and found that it was recessive. She then incorporated the mutant into a stock containing the recessive gene black (b, body color located on chromosome II) and the recessive gene pink (p, eye color located on chromosome III). A female from the homozygous black, pink, short stock was then mated to a wild-type male. The F1 males of this cross were all wild type and were then backcrossed to the homozygous b, p, sh females. The F2 results appeared as shown in the following table. No other phenotypes were observed.

Based on these results, the student was able to assign short to a linkage group (a chromosome). Which one was it? Include your step-by-step reasoning.

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Textbook Question

In Drosophila, a female fly is heterozygous for three mutations, Bar eyes (B), miniature wings (m), and ebony body (e). Note that Bar is a dominant mutation. The fly is crossed to a male with normal eyes, miniature wings, and ebony body. The results of the cross are as follows.

111 miniature; 101 Bar, ebony

29 wild type; 31 Bar, miniature, ebony

117 Bar; 35 ebony

26 Bar, miniature; 115 miniature, ebony

Interpret the results of this cross. If you conclude that linkage is involved between any of the genes, determine the map distance(s) between them.

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Textbook Question

The gene controlling the Xg blood group alleles (Xg⁺ and Xg⁻) and the gene controlling a newly described form of inherited recessive muscle weakness called episodic muscle weakness (EMWX) (Ryan et al., 1999) are closely linked on the X chromosome in humans at position Xp22.3 (the tip of the short arm). A male with EMWX who is Xg⁻ marries a woman who is Xg⁺ and they have eight daughters and one son, all of whom are normal for muscle function, the male being Xg⁺ and all the daughters being heterozygous at both the EMWX and Xg loci. Following is a table that lists three of the daughters with the phenotypes of their husbands and children. Create a pedigree that represents all data stated above and in the following table.


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Textbook Question

The gene controlling the Xg blood group alleles (Xg⁺ and Xg⁻) and the gene controlling a newly described form of inherited recessive muscle weakness called episodic muscle weakness (EMWX) are closely linked on the X chromosome in humans at position Xp22.3 (the tip of the short arm). A male with EMWX who is Xg⁻ marries a woman who is Xg⁺ and they have eight daughters and one son, all of whom are normal for muscle function, the male being Xg⁺ and all the daughters being heterozygous at both the EMWX and Xg loci. Following is a table that lists three of the daughters with the phenotypes of their husbands and children.

For each of the offspring, indicate whether or not a crossover was required to produce the phenotypes that are given.

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