604 Chapter 18 NEL
A 3:1 phenotypic ratio occurs when two heterozygous individuals are crossed, so we
know that the parents must be heterozygous. Since only ^14 of the progeny had wrinkled
seeds, this is the recessive phenotype and must be determined by two copies of the
recessive allele. The parents were heterozygous, so their genotype was Rr. Check the
answer using a Punnett square (Figure 6).
Practice
3.A fish breeder has a red male cichlid of unknown parentage. Red colour is
dominant to yellow in the fish. He must know whether the fish is heterozygous
for these colours. Suggest a way the fish breeder might find out the genotype
of his red male. Use a Punnett square to explain your answer.
4.A neighbour gives a home gardener some seeds that he collected last year
from his red carnations. The gardener plants 50 of the seeds and is surprised
to find 12 of the plants have white flowers. Assuming that all the seeds came
from one cross, what was the genotype of the parents?
rr
round
RR Rr
round wrinkled
round
Rr
round parent
r
R
R r
round parent
Figure 6
The observed phenotypic ratio is
the same as the ratio predicted by
the Punnett square.
Section 18.2 Questions
- In Dalmatian dogs, the spotted condition is dominant to
non-spotted.
(a) Using a Punnett square, show the cross between two
heterozygous parents.
(b) A spotted female Dalmatian dog has six puppies sired
by an unknown male. From their appearance, the
owner concludes that the male was a Dalmatian. Three
of the pups are spotted and three are not. What is the
genotype and phenotype of the puppies’ father?
2.For Mexican hairless dogs, the hairless trait is dominant to
hairy. A litter of eight pups is found; six are hairless and
two are hairy. What are the genotypes of their parents?
3.Test crosses are valuable tools for plant and animal
breeders.
(a) Provide two practical examples of why a cattle rancher
might use a test cross.
(b) Why are most test crosses performed using bulls
rather than cows?
- By using a Punnett square, the expected phenotypic ratio and genotypic ratio of
the offspring of a cross can be determined. - Probability,P
Probability values can be used to predict the likelihood that a particular
phenotype will appear in a cross.
- A test cross is the cross of an individual of unknown genotype to an individual
with a fully recessive genotype.
number of ways that a given outcome can occur
total number of possible outcomes
Probability and Inheritance of Single
SUMMARY Traits