BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
Use your lab handout and other resources provided to complete the following worksheet activity.
Part 1: Genetics
Genetics is the branch of Biology that studies heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics. Before you
start learning more about Genetics, it is important that you become familiar with some basic genetic concepts.
1. Match and pair the following basic genetic concepts:
______ 1. Gene a. describes the specific alleles present in the offspring.
______ 2. Allele b. observable heritable feature that may vary among organisms.
______ 3. Locus c. two identical alleles
______ 4. True-breeding d. produces only offspring with same phenotype as parental generation
______ 5. Phenotype e. two different alleles
______ 6. Genotype f. segments of DNA responsible for producing a particular trait.
______ 7. Homozygous g. variables of a genes present in an offspring.
______ 8. Heterozygous h. position on a chromosome where a particular gene is located.
Part 2: Mendelian Genetics
A 19th century monk named Gregor Mendel began the scientific study of inheritance through his breeding of
pea plants (Cengage. Biology 11ed, 2019. By Solomon, Martin, Martin, and Berg). Watch the following video
about Mendelian Genetics and this additional video about chromosomal inheritance.
1. Key principles of genetics were developed from Mendel’s studies on peas. List and describe the three main
Principles of Inheritance developed by Mendel.
Principle of Inheritance Description:
1.
2.
3.
Watch the following video about Punnett Squares.
2. What is a Punnett Square?
3. Which of the following would you place in #1 located on the Punnett square presented here? Explain your
answer. (hint: This is not a specific example. Think about the general process.)
a. AA c. aa
3 4
b. A or a d. Aa
1 A B
4. Using the same Punnett square, which of the following would you expect to see
in box A? Explain your answer. (hint: This is not a specific example. Think about 2 C D
the general process.)
a. AA c. a
b. A d. Aa
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
5. Is the Punnett square from Question 3 an example of a Monohybrid or Dihybrid cross? What’s the difference
between these two crosses?
6. Mendel crossed true-breeding pea plants and found the dominant trait always appeared in the F1
generation, but it appeared in a _____ ratio of dominant to recessive in the F2 generation? What Mendelian
Principle can explain this pattern?
7. A and a are dominant and recessive alleles, respectively, of the same gene. Which genotype(s) would result
in an individual with the dominant trait?
A) AA and aa D) AA and Aa
B) AA and aa E) only Aa
C) only AA
8. Is the genotypic ratio always the same as the phenotypic ration? What is the genotypic ratio of a cross? And
the phenotypic ratio?
9. Provide the genotypic ratio and the phenotypic ratio of the cross presented here. In this cross, N and n are
dominant and recessive alleles, respectively, of the same gene.
N n
Genotypic Ratio: ______________ N NN Nn
Phenotypic Ratio: _____________ n Nn nn
10. Dimpled cheeks are dominant to undimpled cheeks. If after doing a test- cross
there exists a 50 percent chance that a child will have dimpled cheeks, the parental genotypes must be:
A) DD and dd C) DD and Dd
B) Dd and dd D) Dd and Dd
Part 2: Monohybrid Crosses
Below you will see the experiments described in your lab handout. Each one of these describe one or more
genetic crosses. For this part of the activity, read the introduction to each experiment, look at the results
obtained about the offspring, and then answer the questions. Use your knowledge of genetics to interpret the
results. Use a Punnett square to help you determine the expected genotype ratio and phenotype ratio for each
cross. Refer to your lab handout for more detailed information (William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-
Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout. Union County College. Cranford, NJ.)
Experiment A - green vs. red-stemmed sorghum
The flat of plants on display are the offspring of a monohybrid cross between two parents each heterozygous for
stem color.
1. You counted the red and green seedlings & obtained these results: 168 Green : 55 Red
a. What is the phenotype ratio? ____________
b. What is the expected ratio? ____________
c. Why might the expected and actual ratios vary? ____________
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
2. Which allele is dominant? How do you know? ____________
3. Write the three genotypes that are present in this flat. ____________
4. Draw a Punnett square for this cross
Use the following alleles: R = green & r = red
Experiment B - normal vs. albino leaf
The sorghum (or corn) seedlings in this flat are the progeny of a monohybrid cross between two parents
heterozygous for pigmentation (the presence or absence of chlorophyll).
1. You counted the green and albino (white) seedlings & obtained these results: 58 Green : 21 Albino
a. What is the actual ratio? ___________
b. What is the expected ratio? ___________
c. Why might the expected and actual ratios differ? ____________
2. Which allele is dominant? How do you know? ____________
3. What three genotypes are present in this flat? ____________
4. What is missing in the albino seedlings? ____________
What will be the fate of the albino plants? Why? ____________
5. What is a lethal gene? Most lethal alleles are recessive. Why?
____________
6. Draw a Punnett square for this cross
Use the following alleles: G = green & g = albino
Experiment C - tall vs. dwarf corn
Observe the six flats. The first two flats show the parental types. The other four flats were produced by the
crosses that are listed below.
The six flats of seedlings represent the following:
Flat 1 = P1 - one parental type (tall) – tall stems with long leaves
Flat 2 = P2 - the other parental type (dwarf) – short stems with round leaves
Flat 3 = F1 generation (P1 x P2)
Flat 4 = F2 generation (F1 x F1)
Flat 5 = Testcross1 (backcross) between one individual F2 plant and a P2.
Flat 6 = Testcross2 (backcross) between a different individual F2 plant and P2.
The testcross is used to determine the genotype of an individual that has the dominant phenotype. A plant with
the dominant phenotype could be either homozygous dominant or heterozygous. The outcome of the testcross
reveals which genotype it has (William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout.
Union County College. Cranford, NJ.).
1. You observed the phenotype of the P generation in flats 1 and 2.
2. Next, you observed Flat 3 = F1 generation (P1 x P2).
a. What phenotypes are present in flat 3? ALL TALL Flat 3
b. Which allele is dominant? How do you know?______________
c. Draw a Punnett square for flat 3.
Use the following alleles: H = tall & h = dwarf
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
d. What is the expected phenotype ratio? ? ______________
e. List the genotypes present in flat 3. ______________
3. You moved on to observe Flat 4 = F2 generation (F1 x F1)
a. What phenotypes are present in flat 4? Tall and Dwarf
Flat 4
b. How many of each? 141 Tall, 46 Dwarf
c. What is the phenotype ratio?________________
d. Draw a Punnett square for flat 4.
Use the following alleles: H = tall & h = dwarf
e. What is the expected phenotype ratio? ________________
f. List the genotypes present in this flat. ? ________________
4. The goal of a test cross is to determine the genotype (either Homozygous Dominant or Heterozygous) of
one specific plant.
a. Flat 5 shows results of a test cross for 1 of the tall F2 plants. 78 Tall, 86 Dwarf
b. Flat 6 shows the results of a test cross for a different tall plant from the F2 plant. ALL TALL
c. Draw Punnett squares to show the test crosses that produced flats 5 and 6.
d. Flat 5: What is the genotype of the plant? _____________
e. Flat 6: What is the genotype of the plant? _____________
Flat 5 Flat 6
Part 3: Monohybrid Crosses – Incomplete Dominance
For some traits there are no distinct dominant or recessive alleles. Both alleles are expressed in the
heterozygote so that an intermediate phenotype is seen. As a result, three possible phenotypes are possible.
(William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout. Union County College. Cranford,
NJ.).
Experiment D - green vs. yellow leaf tomato
The flat contains the F2 generation of a monohybrid cross between a pure-breeding parent with green leaves
and a second pure-breeding parent with yellow leaves.
Three phenotypes are seen in the F2: green, yellow-green, and yellow. The color is determined by the amount
of chlorophyll produced in the leaves.
1. The number of plants with each phenotype in the F2 is: 39 Green, 81 Yellow-Green, 42 Yellow
What is the approximate phenotype ratio for this cross? ____________
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
2. What genotypes produced these three phenotypes? Green = ____________
Use LG to represent the allele for green leaves. Yellow-Green = ____________
Y
Use L to represent the allele for yellow leaves Yellow = ____________
3. Draw the Punnett squares to represent (a) cross of P generation, and (b) cross of the F1 generation.
Let LG = green and LY = yellow
cross of P generation to produce the F1 cross of the F1 generation to produce the F2
4. Based on your Punnett Squares
a. What is the expected genotype ratio for the F1 and F2? _____________
b. What is the expected phenotype ratio for the F1 and F2? _____________
c. Why might the expected phenotype ratio differ from the actual phenotype ratio? _________
d. In nature, which of the three phenotypes would be most successful? Why? _____________
Part 4: Dihybrid Crosses
Mendel also wanted to investigate whether the inheritance of one gene could affect another. So, he set up a
dihybrid cross, where he first mated true-breeding parental varieties that had two differences in traits and then
he crossed two of the heterozygous F1 plants. Refer to your lab handout for more detailed information (William
and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout. Union County College. Cranford, NJ.)
Experiment E – the Dihybrid Cross - corn cob genetics
Corn cobs are used for genetic studies because they contain hundreds of seeds, each one exhibiting
characteristics that can be studied in the same way that Mendel studied pea plants. In addition to your lab
handout, you can find additional information about this experiment in this link.
The seeds on this corn cob represent the F 2 generation of a
dihybrid cross, in which we look at inheritance of two
characters.
You will study two characteristics:
1. seed color: purple vs. yellow
2. seed shape: smooth vs. wrinkled
(starchy) (sweet)
The ear of corn shown here has four phenotypes. (Image from http://emilyskwarek.weebly.com/corn-lab.html)
1. Purple, Smooth
2. Purple, Wrinkled
3. Yellow, Smooth
4. Yellow, Wrinkled
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
Students counted the number of seeds with each phenotype on 6 ears of corn. These seeds are the F2
generation. The table below shows the results for each student group and for the entire class.
Group Name Purple Purple Yellow Yellow Group
Smooth Wrinkled Smooth Wrinkled Total
Marth 278 84 84 36 482
Cynthia 234 74 98 33 439
Ludmila 260 106 91 36 493
Valerie 245 75 76 34 430
Brenda 349 125 105 33 612
Kristin 371 135 126 31 663
Class Total 1737 599 580 203 3119
Phenotype Ratio for GROUP
________Name_________
Phenotype Ratio for the CLASS 203/203 = 1
Expected Phenotype Ratio If
genes are linked
Expected Phenotype Ratio If
genes are NOT linked
(Results from Fall 2011, Dr. Rohrer section. Table modified from Rohrer, William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout.
Union County College. Cranford, NJ.)
1. Calculate the phenotype ratio for the 4 phenotypes.
• Find the phenotype that is the least abundant, in this case it is Yellow Wrinkled.
• This number will be the denominator in the ratio.
• EX: Look at the CLASS data, Yellow Wrinkled will be 203/203 = 1,
Yellow Smooth will be 580/203 = 2.86
2. Select one GROUP from the table and analyze their results. Write the name of the group in the table.
a. Calculate the ratio of the four phenotypes? Enter it in the table.
3. Analyze the CLASS totals for each phenotype.
a. Calculate the phenotype ratios for the CLASS. Enter in the table.
b. Compare the CLASS phenotype ratio to your GROUP’S phenotype ratio.
Are they the same? If not, why?
c. What is the expected ratio of these four phenotypes if the genes are on different chromosomes?
Enter it in the table.
d. What is the expected ratio of these four phenotypes if the genes are on the same chromosome?
Enter it in the table.
e. How does the CLASS phenotype ratio compare to the expected ratio?
f. Based on the CLASS results, are the genes for these two characters on the same or different
chromosomes?
g. Based on the CLASS results, which two alleles are dominant?
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
Part 5: Sex Linkage and Autosomal Linkage
This next part of the activity is related to the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance, which states that:
Genes are located on chromosomes.
Chromosomes, not individual genes, segregate during meiosis.
Genes that are on different chromosomes will segregate independently.
Genes that are on the same chromosome will not segregate. They are linked.
T.H. Morgan was the scientist behind the Drosophila (fruit flies) Genetic experiments and making all of this
discoveries. Morgan also established the fruit fly Drosophila as a model organism for studies of inheritance.
Watch the following video to learn more about it.
Drosophila Genetics:
Females larger than males
Females have a long and striped abdomen; males abdomen short with a dark tip
Males have sex combs on fist pair of legs
Wild Type (WT) Phenotype: red eyes, normal wings
Wild-type female fly (left) and a male fly (right).
(Image from https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/drosophila_simulation.html)
You can find more detailed information about Drosophila flies in this link here.
Morgan discovered that fruit flies have 4 pairs of chromosomes.
1 pair has genes that determine gender,
X Y
also known as sex chromosomes.
o Females have 2 X chromosomes. X XX XY
o Males have 1 X and 1 Y chromosome.
3 pairs have genes that do not determine gender, X XX XY
known as autosomes.
The X chromosome has many genes.
The Y chromosome has very few genes.
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
This alters the inheritance pattern of X-linked genes.
o Males need only 1 copy of the recessive allele to show the trait. The Y chromosome is a “blank”.
o Females need two copies to show the trait.
Experiment F - fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) genetics
Drosophila mutants
WT refers to the most common or typical form seen in the wild.
o A “+” sign is used to denote when a fly displays the wild-type characteristic.
Mutant flies are given names that generally denote the type of mutation the fly exhibits.
o Each mutation is also given a letter code.
Example:
o The mutant "ebony" has a much darker body than the wild type fly. In this case, the code is a
lower case e.
o The WT fly, has normal body color (not ebony). In this case, e+ denotes a wild type fly for the
ebony body trait.
For this experiment, five vials are used. Vials 1, 2, and 3 show examples of wild type flies and the two mutant
strains. Vials 4 and 5 show the results of crosses using the mutant strains of flies. For this activity, you are going
to analyze two different types for Drosophila mutants that are found in Vial 4 and Vial 5.
Vial 4: Progeny of a cross between two normal winged parents.
o You will examine the wings and gender of each fly in the vial. Record in the table.
Vial 5: Progeny of a cross between a female with white eyes and a male with red eyes
o You will examine the eyes and gender of each fly in the vial. Record in the table.
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
(Image courtesy of Dr. Rohrer, 2020.
Below you will find the results from the observations made for Vial 4 and Vial 5.
Vial 4 = Results of a cross between two normal winged parents are shown in the table below.
+ wing vg wing + wing vg wing
female female male male
16 4 14 6
(Table modified from Rohrer, William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout. Union County College. Cranford, NJ.)
Use the results to answer these questions.
1. What is the ratio of males to females? _______
2. What is the expected ratio of males to females? _______
3. What phenotypes are present? What is the phenotype ratio? _______
4. Is the phenotype ratio (wild:vestigial) the same in both genders? ________
5. Is this trait autosomal or sex-linked? __________
6. What were the genotypes of the two parents of these offspring? _______
7. Which allele is dominant? Which allele is recessive? _______
8. What is the expected phenotype ratio for this cross? _______
9. Draw the Punnett square to represent this cross.
Vial 5 = Results of a cross between a female with white eyes and a male with red
eyes are shown below.
red eye white eye red eye white eye
female female male male
10 0 0 10
(Table modified from Rohrer, William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout. Union County College. Cranford, NJ.)
Use the results to answer these questions.
1. What is the ratio of males to females? _______
2. What is the expected ratio of males to females? _______
3. What is the ratio of red eye to white eye? _______
4. What is the expected ratio of red eye to white eye? _______
5. Are the eye colors distributed evenly between the two genders? ______
6. Based on your data, is this trait autosomal or sex-linked? ________
7. Draw the Punnett square to represent this cross.
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BIOL-111: Lab 12 – Mendelian Genetics
You must show the symbols linked to the X (X + and Xwh) since
this is an X-linked trait.
8. Explain why you get these results?
References:
Rohrer, William and Zanes, Everett. Bio111-Lab 12-Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout. Union County College.
Cranford, NJ.
Cengage. Biology 11ed, 2019. By Solomon, Martin, Martin, and Berg.
Dr. Rohrer materials, 2020.
http://emilyskwarek.weebly.com/corn-lab.html
https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/drosophila_simulation.html
http://math.hws.edu/javamath/ryan/Genetics1.html
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