Black skin color is dominant to pink skin color in pigs. Two heterozygous black pigs are crossed.

What is the probability that their offspring will have pink skin?

Key Concepts

Dominant and Recessive Alleles

In genetics, alleles are different forms of a gene. A dominant allele, represented by a capital letter, masks the effect of a recessive allele, represented by a lowercase letter. In this case, the allele for black skin color is dominant over the allele for pink skin color, meaning that only the recessive allele must be present in a homozygous state (two copies) for the pink skin phenotype to be expressed.

Punnett Square

A Punnett square is a diagram used to predict the genotypes of offspring from a genetic cross. By arranging the alleles of the parents along the top and side of a grid, one can visualize the possible combinations of alleles in the offspring. This tool is essential for calculating probabilities of specific traits, such as skin color in this scenario.

Genotype and Phenotype

The genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an organism, while the phenotype is the observable physical or biochemical characteristics resulting from the genotype. In this case, the genotypes of the heterozygous black pigs (Bb) can produce different phenotypes in their offspring, including the pink skin phenotype (bb) when both recessive alleles are inherited.