The blending inheritance hypothesis proposed that the genetic material from parents is mixed in the offspring. As a result, traits of offspring and later descendants should lie between the phenotypes of parents. Mendel, in contrast, proposed that genes are discrete and that their integrity is maintained in the offspring and in subsequent generations. Suppose the year is 1890. You are a horse breeder who has just read Mendel's paper. You don't believe his results, however, because you often work with cremello (very light-colored) and chestnut (reddish-brown) horses. You know that when you breed a cremello individual from a pure-breeding line with a chestnut individual from a pure-breeding line, the offspring are palomino—meaning they have an intermediate (golden-yellow) body color. What additional cross would you do to test whether Mendel's model is valid in the case of genes for horse color? According to his model, what offspring phenotype frequencies would you get from your experimental cross? Explain why your cross would test Mendel's model versus blending inheritance.
13. Mendelian Genetics
Monohybrid Crosses
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Which of the following is an example of a monohybrid cross?
A
Crossing a pea plant with purple flowers and a pea plant with white flowers
B
Crossing a pea plant with tall stems and a pea plant with short stems
C
Crossing a pea plant with round seeds and a pea plant with wrinkled seeds
D
Crossing a pea plant with yellow seeds and a pea plant with green seeds
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the concept of a monohybrid cross: A monohybrid cross involves the study of the inheritance of a single trait, where two organisms are crossed to observe how one specific trait is passed on to the offspring.
Identify the trait being studied in each option: For each crossing option, determine the single trait that is being observed. For example, flower color, stem height, seed shape, or seed color.
Evaluate each option: Check if each option involves only one trait. For instance, crossing a pea plant with purple flowers and a pea plant with white flowers involves the trait of flower color.
Determine the correct example: The correct example of a monohybrid cross is the one where only one trait is being studied. In this case, crossing a pea plant with yellow seeds and a pea plant with green seeds involves the single trait of seed color.
Conclude with the definition: A monohybrid cross is specifically focused on the inheritance of one trait, making the crossing of a pea plant with yellow seeds and a pea plant with green seeds a classic example.
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