Biology 9700 · AS & A Level · Passage of information from parents to offspring

Passage of information from parents to offspring — practice question

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, displays a wide range of phenotypic variation and has been used in experiments to illustrate inheritance principles. Most fruit flies have red eyes, although a white-eyed variant also occurs. Fig. 7.1 shows the red-eyed and white-eyed variants of the fruit fly. The eye-colour gene is found on the X chromosome.
(a)[5]

Using suitable symbols, draw a genetic diagram to show the possible offspring from a cross between a heterozygous red-eyed female fruit fly and a white-eyed male fruit fly.

(b(i))[1]

State why a man who has haemophilia is unable to pass the condition on to his son.

(b(ii))[1]

Queen Victoria of Great Britain in the 19th century carried haemophilia, but she did not have the condition. State the term used to describe the genotype of a carrier.

(b(iii))[1]

Neither of Queen Victoria’s parents had the allele for haemophilia. Suggest how Queen Victoria might have become a carrier.

Worked solution & mark scheme

This 8-mark question has a full step-by-step worked solution and mark scheme. One marking point: Appropriate symbols, such as $X^A$ and $X^a$

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