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This laboratory exercise aims to explore the principles of genetic inheritance by examining the phenotype outcomes of Drosophila melanogaster, specifically focusing on eye color variation across generations. By crossing sepia-eyed flies with wildtype flies, we seek to understand the patterns of dominant and recessive gene expression in subsequent generations.
Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly, serves as an excellent model for genetic studies due to its simple genetic makeup, short lifecycle, and easily observable phenotypes.
This experiment is designed to investigate the inheritance pattern of sepia eye color, a recessive trait, when crossed with wildtype eye color, a dominant trait.
The experiment is grounded in Mendelian genetics, which postulates that traits are inherited through discrete units known as genes. These genes can exist in different forms, or alleles, which can be dominant or recessive. The presence of a single dominant allele is sufficient to express the dominant phenotype, whereas the recessive phenotype is expressed only when both alleles are recessive.
It is hypothesized that crossing sepia-eyed Drosophila with wildtype flies will result in an F1 generation exhibiting only the wildtype phenotype.
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Subsequent crossing of the F1 generation is expected to yield an F2 generation with a 3:1 ratio of wildtype to sepia phenotypes.
| Phenotype | Number of Females | Number of Males | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildtype Red Eyes | 13 | 15 | 28 |
| Phenotype | Total Males | Total Females | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildtype | 28 | 36 | 64 |
| Sepia | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Albino (Anomaly) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 38 | 47 | 85 |
The ratio of wildtype to sepia in the F2 generation was approximately 3.2:1, aligning closely with the Mendelian expectation of 3:1 for a monohybrid cross involving a dominant and a recessive allele.
The chi-squared test, considering degrees of freedom as 2 (for two phenotypic categories, excluding the albino anomaly), indicated that our observed ratios did not significantly deviate from the expected 3:1 ratio, supporting our hypothesis.
The experiment confirmed the hypothesis that crossing sepia-eyed Drosophila with wildtype would yield an F1 generation of all wildtype phenotypes and an F2 generation adhering to a 3:1 wildtype to sepia phenotype ratio.
This outcome demonstrates the basic principles of Mendelian inheritance, with the wildtype allele being dominant over the recessive sepia allele. The occurrence of an albino fly suggests the possibility of genetic mutations or epistatic interactions not accounted for in the original hypothesis, indicating the complexity of genetic inheritance beyond simple dominance and recessiveness.
Investigating Genetic Inheritance in Drosophila Melanogaster. (2024, Feb 28). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/document/investigating-genetic-inheritance-in-drosophila-melanogaster
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