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Ch. 14 - Mendel and the Gene Idea
Chapter 14, Problem 4

DRAW IT Two pea plants heterozygous for the characters of pod color and pod shape are crossed. Draw a Punnett square to determine the phenotypic ratios of the offspring.

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Identify the genotypes of the parent pea plants. Since they are heterozygous for pod color and pod shape, each parent's genotype for these traits can be represented as GgSs, where 'G' represents green pods (dominant), 'g' represents yellow pods (recessive), 'S' represents smooth pods (dominant), and 's' represents wrinkled pods (recessive).
Set up a Punnett square. Since each parent can produce four types of gametes (GS, Gs, gS, gs), the Punnett square will be a 4x4 grid, accounting for the 16 possible combinations of these gametes.
Fill in the Punnett square. Place the gametes of one parent along the top of the square and the gametes of the other parent along the side. Each cell within the square represents the offspring resulting from the combination of the corresponding gametes.
Determine the genotypes of the offspring for each cell in the Punnett square. For example, the combination of gametes GS and Gs would result in the genotype GGSs.
Calculate the phenotypic ratios by counting the number of offspring displaying each phenotype (green smooth, green wrinkled, yellow smooth, yellow wrinkled) and expressing these counts as ratios.

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Key Concepts

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

Punnett Square

A Punnett square is a diagram used in genetics to predict the genotypes of offspring from a cross between two parents. It organizes the possible combinations of alleles from each parent, allowing for a visual representation of genetic variation. By filling in the squares, one can easily determine the probability of different phenotypes and genotypes in the offspring.
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Punnett Squares

Heterozygous

Heterozygous refers to an organism that has two different alleles for a particular gene, one inherited from each parent. In the context of the pea plants, being heterozygous for pod color and pod shape means that each plant carries one dominant and one recessive allele for these traits. This genetic variation is crucial for understanding the potential outcomes of the cross.
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Dihybrid Crosses

Phenotypic Ratio

The phenotypic ratio is the ratio of different phenotypes that appear in the offspring from a genetic cross. It is derived from the results of the Punnett square and indicates the likelihood of each phenotype being expressed. For example, in a dihybrid cross, the phenotypic ratio can reveal the expected proportions of traits such as color and shape in the offspring.
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Genotypic vs. Phenotypic Ratio
Related Practice
Textbook Question

DRAW IT A pea plant heterozygous for inflated pods (Ii) is crossed with a plant homozygous for constricted pods (ii). Draw a Punnett square for this cross to predict genotypic and phenotypic ratios. Assume that pollen comes from the ii plant.

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Textbook Question

A man with type A blood marries a woman with type B blood. Their child has type O blood. What are the genotypes of these three individuals? What genotypes, and in what frequencies, would you expect in future offspring from this marriage?

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Textbook Question

Flower position, stem length, and seed shape are three characters that Mendel studied. Each is controlled by an independently assorting gene and has dominant and recessive expression as indicated in Table 14.1. If a plant that is heterozygous for all three characters is allowed to self-fertilize, what proportion of the offspring would you expect to be each of the following? (Note: Use the rules of probability instead of a huge Punnett square.) a. homozygous for the three dominant traits b. homozygous for the three recessive traits c. heterozygous for all three characters d. homozygous for axial and tall, heterozygous for seed shape

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Textbook Question

Hemochromatosis is an inherited disease caused by a recessive allele. If a woman and her husband, who are both carriers, have three children, what is the probability of each of the following? a. All three children are of normal phenotype. b. One or more of the three children have the disease. c. All three children have the disease. d. At least one child is phenotypically normal.

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Textbook Question

The genotype of F1 individuals in a tetrahybrid cross is AaBbCcDd. Assuming independent assortment of these four genes, what are the probabilities that F2 offspring will have the following genotypes? a. aabbccdd b. AaBbCcDd c. AABBCCDD d. AaBBccDd e. AaBBCCdd

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