Biol 304

Genetics: Problem Set 1 (25 points)

Due: 1/20/15

1. Name three essential structural elements of a functional eukaryotic chromosome and

describe their functions.
2. List the stages of interphase and the major events that take place in each stage.
3. What two processes unique to meiosis are responsible for genetic variation? At what
point in meiosis do these processes take place?
4. A horse has 64 chromosomes and a donkey has 62 chromosomes. A cross between a
female horse and a male donkey produces a mule, which is usually sterile. How many
chromosomes does a mule have?
5. What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?
6.White (w) coat color in guinea pigs is recessive to black (W). Castle and Phillips (1909;
Science30:312313) transplanted an ovary from a black guinea pig into a white female
whose ovaries had been removed. They then mated this white female with a white male.
All the offspring from the mating were black in color. (A)Explain results of this cross.
(B)Give the genotype of the offspring of this cross.
7. Joe has a white cat named Sam. When Joe crosses Sam with a black cat, he obtains 12
white kittens and 12 black kittens. When the black kittens are interbred, all the kittens
that they produce are black. On the basis of these results, which coat color (white or
black) in cats would you conclude is a recessive trait?
8. What is the probability of rolling one six-sided die and obtaining the following
numbers?
A) A 2
B) A 1 or 2
C) Any even number
D) Any number but 6

9. Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a disease that results from a recessive gene. Two normal
parents produce a child with PKU.
A) What is the probability that a sperm from the father will contain the recessive PKU
allele?
B) What is the probability that an egg from the mother will contain the recessive PKU
allele?
C) What is the probability that their next child will have PKU?
D) What is the probability that their next child will be heterozygous for the PKU gene?
10. In watermelons, bitter fruit (B) is dominant over sweet fruit (b), and yellow spots (S)
are dominant over no spots (s). A homozygous plant that has bitter fruit and yellow spots
is crossed with a homozygous plant that has sweet fruit and no spots. An F1 is crossed
with another F1 to produce the F2. Give the expected phenotypic ratios of the F2
progeny.
11.In cucumbers, dull fruit (D) is dominant over glossy fruit (d), orange fruit (R) is
dominant over cream fruit (r), and bitter cotyledons (B) are dominant over nonbitter
cotyledons (b). The three characteristics are encoded by genes located on different pairs
of chromosomes. A plant homozygous for dull, orange fruit and bitter cotyledons is
crossed with a plant that has glossy, cream fruit and nonbitter cotyledons. The F1 are
crossed to produce the F2. Give the phenotypes and proportions expected from the cross.
Phenotype(e.g.,dull,cream,nonbitter)

Proportion(e.g.,9/64)

12.J. A. Moore investigated the inheritance of spotting patterns in leopard frogs (J. A.
Moore. 1943. JournalofHeredity34:37). The pipiens phenotype had the normal spots
that give leopard frogs their name. In contrast, the burnsi phenotype lacked spots on its
back. Moore carried out the following crosses, producing the progeny indicated.
ParentalCrosses

ResultingProgenyPhenotypes

1.BurnsixBurnsi

39Burnsi:6Pipiens

2.BurnsixPipiens

23Burnsi:33Pipiens

3.BurnsixPipiens

196Burnsi:210Pipiens

Foreachofthethreecrossesaboveindicatethemostlikelygenotypesforeachparental
phenotypebelow.Use B for the dominant allele and b for the recessive allele. Enter
parental genotypes in the blank boxes below.
Parent1
1.BurnsixBurnsi
2.BurnsixPipiens
3.BurnsixPipiens

Parent2

13.Many studies have suggested a strong genetic predisposition to migraine headaches,

but the mode of inheritance is not clear. L. Russo and colleagues examined migraine
headaches in several families, two of which are shown in the pedigrees below (L. Russo
et al. 2005. AmericanJournalofHumanGenetics76:327333). What is the most likely
mode of inheritance for migraine headaches for each of these families? Indicate all
modes that are possible.

14.How does sex determination in the XX-XY system differ from sex determination in
the ZZ-ZW system?
15. Explain why tortoiseshell cats are almost always female and why they have a patchy
distribution of orange and black fur.
16.What is a Barr body? How is it related to the Lyon hypothesis?

17. What will be the phenotypic sex of a human with the following gene or
chromosomes or both?
GeneticCondition

PhenotypicGender

XY with the SRYgene deleted

XY with the SRYgene located on an
autosomal chromosome
XX with a copy of the SRYgene on an
autosomal chromosome
XO with a copy of the SRYgene on an
autosomal chromosome
XXY with the SRYgene deleted

18.Redgreen color blindness is an X-linked recessive trait in humans. Polydactyly

(extra fingers and toes) is an autosomal dominant trait. Martha has normal fingers and
toes and normal color vision. Her mother is normal in all respects, but her father is color
blind and polydactylous. Bill is color blind and polydactylous. His mother has normal
color vision and normal fingers and toes. If Bill and Martha marry, what types and
proportions of children can they produce?

19.Assume that long ear lobes in humans are an autosomal dominant trait that exhibits
30% penetrance. A person who is heterozygous for long ear lobes mates with a person
who is homozygous for normal ear lobes. What is the probability that their first child will
have long ear lobes?

20. Shell coiling of the snail Limnaeaperegraresults from a genetic maternal effect. An
+
autosomal allele for a right-handed shell (s ), called dextral, is dominant over the allele
for a left-handed shell (s), called sinistral. A pet snail called Martha is sinistral and
reproduces only as a female (the snails are hermaphroditic). Indicate which of the
following statements are true and which are false.
A) Marthas genotype must be ss.
B) Marthas genotype must be s+s+
C) All offspring produced by Martha must be sinistral.
D) Marthas mother must have been sinistral.
E) All Marthas brothers must be sinistral.

21.Genes can be known to interact with one another. When the effect of one gene hides
the effect of another, this is known as:
a. epistasis.
b. codominance.
c. incomplete dominance.
d. gene interacton.
e.penetrance.
f. expressivity.
22. Red-green color blindness is X-linked recessive. A woman with normal color vision
has a father who is color blind. The woman has a child with a man with normal color
vision. Which phenotype is NOT expected?
a. a color-blind female
b. a color-blind male
c. a noncolor-blind female
d. a noncolor-blind male
In the case of three linked loci, double crossovers always result in switching of the ______
loci
a. first
b. middle
c. last
d. first and middle

24. When can nondisjunction occur?

a. meiosis I and II
b. mitosis
c. meiosis I and mitosis
d. meiosis I
e. meiosis I, meiosis II, and mitosis
25. If the probability for phenotype A is 1/4 and the probability for the independent
phenotype B is 1/2, what is the probability for the simultaneous occurrence of A and B?
a. 1/4
b. 1/8
c. 1/16
d. 1
e. 1/2