Exercise 1: Chromosome Demonstration and Observation

Table 1.1. Mitosis in Onion Root tips

Chromosome Chromosome
Stage Sketch
Behavior/Morphology Number

Prophase

Metaphase

Anaphase

Telophase

Table 1.2. Mitosis in Whitefish Blastula

Chromosome Chromosome
Stage Sketch
Behavior/Morphology Number

Prophase

Metaphase

Anaphase

Telophase

Table 1.3. Meiosis in Grasshopper Testis

Chromosome Chromosome
Stage Sketch
Behavior/Morphology Number

Prophase

Leptotene

Zygotene
 Pachytene

Diplotene

Diakinesis

Metaphase I

Anaphase I

Telophase I

Prophase II

Metaphase II

Anaphase II

Telophase II

Figure 1.1 Giant chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster M.

Questions
1. Enumerate the specific stages of a cell cycle. How many times does a strand of DNA replicate
for every cycle?

2. What do you call those proteins that regulate the cell cycle?

3. Illustrate metacentric, dicentric, acrocentric, and telocentric chromosomes. Label the important
structures of a chromosome, i.e., chromatid, centromere, p and q arms.

Figure 1.2. The different forms of a chromosome.

4. What are kinetochore microtubules? What specific purpose do they serve?

5. What gave rise to the giant chromosomal puffs in the salivary glands of Drosophila?

Conclusions:

References:

Exercise 2: Mendelian Inheritance and Probability

Patricia Claire M. Medina February 5, 2020
BIO 140 LB2A

I. Mendelian Inheritance

1. List all the different gametes produced by the following individuals:

a. AABBCc
b. AaBbccDd
c. AABbCcddEeFf

2. Short hair in rabbits is governed by a dominant gene (L) and long hair by its recessive
allele (l). Black hair results from the action of the dominant genotype (B_) and brown from
the recessive genotype (bb).
a. In crosses between dihybrid short, black and homozygous short, brown rabbits, what
genotypic and phenotypic ratios are expected among their progeny?

b. Determine the expected genotypic and phenotypic ratios in progeny from the cross
LlBb x Llbb.

3. Suppose pure line lima bean plants having green pods were crossed with pure line plants
having yellow pods. If all the F1 plants had green pods and these were allowed to
interbreed, 580 F2 plants, consisting of 435 with green pods and 145 with yellow pods
were obtained.
a. Which characteristics are dominant and recessive, respectively?
b. Of the F2 plants, how many are homozygous recessive, homozygous dominant and
heterozygous recessive?
c. Using your own gene symbols, represent the dominant gene and the recessive gene.
Write out a plan showing the segregation of genes from the parents to the F2 plants.

4. Consider the following crosses in pea plant and determine the genotypes of the parents
in each cross. Yellow and green refer to seed color while tall and short refer to plant height.

Parent Offspring
Phenotype Genotype Yellow, tall Yellow, short Green, tall Green, short
Yellow tall x
89 31 33 10
yellow tall
Yellow short
0 42 0 15
x yellow short
Green tall x
21 20 24 22
yellow short

5. In Drosophila melanogaster M., one gene pair is known to affect wing size. The allele for
normal long wings (vg+) in this gene pair has a dominant effect over the allele for short
vestigial wings (vg). Another independently assorting gene pair affects body color. The
allele for normal grey body color (e+) is dominant over ebony body color (e). A cross is
made between a fly with normal wings and ebony color and a fly with vestigial wings and
 normal body color. The normal-appearing F1 are crossed among each other and 512 F2
flies are raised. What phenotypes would you expect in the F2 and in what numbers would
you expect to find them?

II. Binomial Expansion

Expectations for various combinations in groups of given size (n) can be obtained
mathematically. Mendel and others recognized that combinations can be calculated by expanding
the binomial (a+b)n, which is represented as follows:
Let a = probability of the first event
b = probability of the alternative event
and a + b = 1

In an example involving babies,

Let a = ½ (probability of girls)
b = ½ (probability of boys)

If you wish to consider the case in which four babies are born in a hospital in one day,
expand (a + b)4 = a4 + 4a3b + 6a2b2 + 4ab3 + b4
Expectation of 4 girls = a4 = (1/2)4 = 1/16
Expectation of 3 girls: 1 boy = 4a3b = 4(1/2)3(1/2) = 4/16 = 1/4
Expectation of 2 girls: 2 boys = 6a2b2 = 6(1/2)2(1/2)2 = 6/16 = 3/8
Expectation of 1 girl: 3 boys = 4ab3 = 4(1/2)(1/2)3 = 4/16 = 1/4
Expectation of 4 boys = b4 = (1/2)4 = 1/16

When the probability of only a certain combination in a given size group is required,
factorials may be employed as shown in the following formula:

𝑛!
P = x!(n−x)! pxqn-x

Let P = probability to be calculated

N = sample size
X = condition asked for one class
p = probability of one event (e.g. boy)
q = probability of one event (e.g. girl)

6. If five babies are born in a given hospital on the same day, what is the chance of:
a. 4 boys: 1 girl
_____________________________________________________
b. 3 boys: 2 girls
____________________________________________________
c. 2 boys: 3 girls
____________________________________________________
d. 1 boy: 4 girls
_____________________________________________________
e. All five are of the same sex (that is, either all males or all females)
_____________________________________________________________
 7. If six babies are born in a given hospital on the same day, what is the probability that:
a. Two will be boys and four will be girls?
_________________________________
b. One will be a boy and five will be girls?
________________________________
c. Three will be boys and three will be girls?
______________________________
d. All six will be girls?
________________________________________________

8. Albinism in humans is controlled by a recessive gene (c). From marriage between two
normally pigmented carriers (Cc), what is the probability that:
a. All four will be normal?
_____________________________________________
b. The first child is normal female child?
_________________________________
c. Three will be normal and one albino?
_________________________________
d. All four albino?
___________________________________________________

III. Mutually Exclusive Events

The probability of either one or the other of two mutually exclusive events occurring is the
sum of their individual probabilities. This probability principle has implications for genetic studies.
For example, what is that probability that an individual with the genotype Cc will produce
either a C or c gamete?
ANS. ½ (probability that it is C) + ½ (probability that it is c) = 1

9. If Aa is mated to Aa, what is the probability that the offspring will either have the genotype
AA or Aa?
__________________________________________________
10. In a cross between AaBb and AaBb, what is the probability that the offspring will be as
follows:
a. Either genotype AABb or the genotype AaBB?
___________________________
b. Either genotype AaBb or the genotype aaBb?
___________________________
c. Either genotype Aabb or the genotype aaBB?
___________________________
e. Either genotype A_B_ or the genotype aaB_?
____________________________

IV. Problems on probability

11. A woman is heterozygous for four gene pairs and homozygous for six gene pairs.
a. How many different kinds of eggs can she form?

b. If her husband had the same genetic constitution as she did, how many different kinds
of genotypes are possible among their offspring?

c. If Aa were one of the gene pairs for which both of these parents were heterozygous,
what is the probability that their first child would also be heterozygous for the same
gene pair?

d. What is the probability that they would have two children, the first Aa and the second
aa?

e. After the first two children were born, what is the probability that their next child would
be AA?

12. Infantile amaurotic idiocy is a serious mental defect occurring in individuals homozygous
for a recessive gene (a).
a. If two normal parents had a daughter with symptoms of this disease and a normal son,
what is the probability that the son is a carrier of the recessive gene?

b. If this son married a normal woman whose brother was affected by this disease, what
is the probability that the first offspring of this marriage would be defective?

c. If the first child born to the mating in (b) was defective, what is the probability that the
second child would also be defective?

d. If the first two children born to the mating in (b) were defective, what is the probability
that the third child would be normal?

13. Each of the three gene pairs Aa, Bb and Cc affect a different character and assort
independently of each other. If the effects caused by capital letter genes are dominant to
those caused by small letter genes, what is the probability of obtaining
a. An ABC gamete from an AABBCc individual?
b. An AABBCC zygote from a cross between aaBBcc and AabbCc?
c. An aBC phenotype from a cross between AaBbCC and AaBBcc?
d. An abc phenotype from a cross between AaBbCc and AaBbCc?
e. An ABC phenotype from a cross aabbCC x AABBcc?

14. In human beings, brachydactyly (shortened fingers) is a heterozygous expression of a

gene that causes death when homozygous. Two persons with brachydactyly were married
and now have three grown children. What is the chance that two of these are normal and
one has brachydactyly?

15. A husband and wife agree that they would like to have three sons and a daughter. The
husband says he would like the daughter to be the last born so she will be the youngest,
 but the wife says it makes no difference when she is born, just so one of the four children
is a daughter and the other three are sons. Show the chance that the husband’s wishes
will be fulfilled and the chance that the wife’s wishes will be fulfilled.

Exercise 3: Non-Mendelian Inheritance: Gene Interaction

Patricia Claire M. Medina February 5, 2020

BIO 140 LB2A

1. Normal hearing depends on the presence of at least one dominant of each of two genes,
D and E. If you examined the collective progeny of a large number of DdEe and ddEe
marriages, what phenotypic ratio would you expect to find?

2. What fruit color ratio would you expect from the following crosses of summer squash?
a. Wwgg x WwGG
b. wwGg x WwGg
c. WwGg x green

3. The tailless trait in the mouse results from an allele of a gene in chromosome 17. The
cross between two tailless mice produces progeny in a ratio of 2 tailless : 1 wildtype. All
tailless progeny from this cross when mated with wild type, produced a 1:1 ratio of tailless
to wild type progeny.

a. Is the allele for the tailless trait dominant or recessive?

b. What genetic hypothesis can account for the 2 : 1 ratio of tailless: wildtype?

c. Explain how the cross arrived at a 1:1 ratio (tailless: wild type)

4. Red kernel color in wheat results from the interaction between two dominant alleles. With
only one dominant allele, the phenotype is brown while in the absence of any dominant
allele, the phenotype is white. Suppose that plants of a variety that is true breeding for red
kernels are crossed with plants true breeding for white kernels.

a. What specific type of interaction can be observed?

b. What is the expected phenotype of the F1 plants?

c. What are the expected phenotypic classes in the F2 progeny and their relative
proportions?
 5. A geneticist crosses two yellow mice with straight hair and obtains the following progeny:
1/2 yellow, straight
1/6 yellow, fuzzy
1/4 gray, straight
1/12 gray, fuzzy

a. Provide a genetic explanation for the results and assign genotypes to the parents and
progeny of this cross.

b. What additional crosses might be carried out to determine if your explanation is correct?

6. You are working with the exotic organism Phobia laboris and are interested in obtaining
mutants that work hard. Normal phobes are lazy. Perseverance finally pays off and you
successfully isolate a true-breeding line of hard workers. Upon analyzing this trait in detail,
you have obtained the following results:

Parents: hard worker x non worker F1 are all nonworkers of both sexes
F1 female x worker male 3 hard workers: 1 nonworker of both sexes.

a. What are the genotypes of the hard worker and non worker organisms?

b. What is the specific type of inheritance of this trait?

c. From these results, predict the expected phenotypic ratio from crossing two F1
nonworkers.