Biology 9700 · AS & A Level · Passage of information from parents to offspring
Passage of information from parents to offspring — practice question
In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, there are autosomal genes controlling body colour and wing shape. Gene $B/b$ is responsible for body colour production: $B$ is the dominant allele for brown body colour, while $b$ is the recessive allele for black body colour. Gene $D/d$ is responsible for wing shape: $D$ is the dominant allele for straight wing, while $d$ is the recessive allele for curved wing. A dihybrid test cross was performed between flies heterozygous for body colour and wing shape and flies homozygous recessive for body colour and wing shape.
(a)[1]
Table 5.1 displays the number of offspring of each phenotype from the test cross. Use Table 5.1 to calculate the expected number for each phenotype if the two genes are on different autosomes. Record your answers in the table.
(b)
A chi-squared ($\chi^2$) test was used to compare the observed outcomes with those expected from a dihybrid cross involving genes on different autosomes. The value of $\chi^2 = 2097.836$. Table 5.2 gives the critical values for the $\chi^2$ distribution.
(c)[4]
Suggest reasons for the results shown in Table 5.1.
Worked solution & mark scheme
This 5-mark question has a full step-by-step worked solution and mark scheme. One marking point: “Each expected number is 1827” …