The smooth feathers on the back of the neck in pigeons can be reversed by a mutation to produce a 'crested' appearance in which feathers form a distinctive spike at the back of the head. A pigeon breeder examined offspring produced by a single pair of non-crested birds and recorded the following: 22 non-crested and 7 crested. She then made a series of crosses using offspring from the first cross. When she crossed two of the crested birds, all 20 of the offspring were crested. When she crossed a non-crested bird with a crested bird, 7 offspring were non-crested and 6 were crested. For these three crosses, provide genotypes for parents and offspring that are consistent with these results.
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Biology2h 42m
- 2. Chemistry3h 37m
- 3. Water1h 26m
- 4. Biomolecules2h 23m
- 5. Cell Components2h 26m
- 6. The Membrane2h 31m
- 7. Energy and Metabolism2h 0m
- 8. Respiration2h 40m
- 9. Photosynthesis2h 49m
- 10. Cell Signaling59m
- 11. Cell Division2h 47m
- 12. Meiosis2h 0m
- 13. Mendelian Genetics4h 44m
- Introduction to Mendel's Experiments7m
- Genotype vs. Phenotype17m
- Punnett Squares13m
- Mendel's Experiments26m
- Mendel's Laws18m
- Monohybrid Crosses19m
- Test Crosses14m
- Dihybrid Crosses20m
- Punnett Square Probability26m
- Incomplete Dominance vs. Codominance20m
- Epistasis7m
- Non-Mendelian Genetics12m
- Pedigrees6m
- Autosomal Inheritance21m
- Sex-Linked Inheritance43m
- X-Inactivation9m
- 14. DNA Synthesis2h 27m
- 15. Gene Expression3h 6m
- 16. Regulation of Expression3h 31m
- Introduction to Regulation of Gene Expression13m
- Prokaryotic Gene Regulation via Operons27m
- The Lac Operon21m
- Glucose's Impact on Lac Operon25m
- The Trp Operon20m
- Review of the Lac Operon & Trp Operon11m
- Introduction to Eukaryotic Gene Regulation9m
- Eukaryotic Chromatin Modifications16m
- Eukaryotic Transcriptional Control22m
- Eukaryotic Post-Transcriptional Regulation28m
- Eukaryotic Post-Translational Regulation13m
- 17. Viruses37m
- 18. Biotechnology2h 58m
- 19. Genomics17m
- 20. Development1h 5m
- 21. Evolution3h 1m
- 22. Evolution of Populations3h 53m
- 23. Speciation1h 37m
- 24. History of Life on Earth2h 6m
- 25. Phylogeny2h 31m
- 26. Prokaryotes4h 59m
- 27. Protists1h 12m
- 28. Plants1h 22m
- 29. Fungi36m
- 30. Overview of Animals34m
- 31. Invertebrates1h 2m
- 32. Vertebrates50m
- 33. Plant Anatomy1h 3m
- 34. Vascular Plant Transport1h 2m
- 35. Soil37m
- 36. Plant Reproduction47m
- 37. Plant Sensation and Response1h 9m
- 38. Animal Form and Function1h 19m
- 39. Digestive System1h 10m
- 40. Circulatory System1h 49m
- 41. Immune System1h 12m
- 42. Osmoregulation and Excretion50m
- 43. Endocrine System1h 4m
- 44. Animal Reproduction1h 2m
- 45. Nervous System1h 55m
- 46. Sensory Systems46m
- 47. Muscle Systems23m
- 48. Ecology3h 11m
- Introduction to Ecology20m
- Biogeography14m
- Earth's Climate Patterns50m
- Introduction to Terrestrial Biomes10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Near Equator13m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Temperate Regions10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Northern Regions15m
- Introduction to Aquatic Biomes27m
- Freshwater Aquatic Biomes14m
- Marine Aquatic Biomes13m
- 49. Animal Behavior28m
- 50. Population Ecology3h 41m
- Introduction to Population Ecology28m
- Population Sampling Methods23m
- Life History12m
- Population Demography17m
- Factors Limiting Population Growth14m
- Introduction to Population Growth Models22m
- Linear Population Growth6m
- Exponential Population Growth29m
- Logistic Population Growth32m
- r/K Selection10m
- The Human Population22m
- 51. Community Ecology2h 46m
- Introduction to Community Ecology2m
- Introduction to Community Interactions9m
- Community Interactions: Competition (-/-)38m
- Community Interactions: Exploitation (+/-)23m
- Community Interactions: Mutualism (+/+) & Commensalism (+/0)9m
- Community Structure35m
- Community Dynamics26m
- Geographic Impact on Communities21m
- 52. Ecosystems2h 36m
- 53. Conservation Biology24m
13. Mendelian Genetics
Test Crosses
Problem 16c
Textbook Question
You have crossed two Drosophila melanogaster individuals that have long wings and red eyes—the wild-type phenotype. In the progeny, curved wings and lozenge eyes mutant phenotypes appear as follows: What is the genotype of the female parent?


1
Examine the phenotypes of the progeny: The progeny includes individuals with long wings and red eyes, curved wings and red eyes, long wings and lozenge eyes, and curved wings and lozenge eyes.
Identify the phenotypes that are considered wild-type and mutant: Long wings and red eyes are wild-type, while curved wings and lozenge eyes are mutant phenotypes.
Determine the inheritance pattern: Since both curved wings and lozenge eyes appear in the progeny, these traits are likely recessive. The presence of these traits in the progeny suggests that the female parent carries alleles for both mutant traits.
Analyze the progeny ratios: The progeny ratio suggests a typical Mendelian inheritance pattern, indicating that the female parent is heterozygous for both traits. This means she carries one allele for the wild-type trait and one allele for the mutant trait for both wing shape and eye color.
Conclude the genotype of the female parent: Based on the analysis, the female parent is likely heterozygous for both traits, meaning her genotype is likely 'WwLl', where 'W' represents the allele for long wings, 'w' for curved wings, 'L' for red eyes, and 'l' for lozenge eyes.

This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above
Video duration:
3mPlay a video:
Was this helpful?
Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Drosophila melanogaster Genetics
Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly, is a model organism in genetics. Its simple genetic structure and short life cycle make it ideal for studying inheritance patterns. Traits such as wing shape and eye color are often used to illustrate Mendelian genetics, where dominant and recessive alleles determine phenotypes.
Recommended video:
Guided course
Genetic Code
Phenotype and Genotype
Phenotype refers to the observable characteristics of an organism, such as wing shape and eye color, while genotype refers to the genetic makeup that determines these traits. In this case, the wild-type phenotype (long wings and red eyes) is dominant, and the presence of mutant phenotypes indicates the underlying genotypes of the parents.
Recommended video:
Guided course
Genotype & Phenotype
Mendelian Inheritance
Mendelian inheritance describes the patterns of inheritance for traits controlled by single genes with dominant and recessive alleles. The ratios of phenotypes in the progeny can be analyzed to infer the genotypes of the parents. In this scenario, the appearance of mutant phenotypes suggests that the female parent may carry recessive alleles for curved wings and lozenge eyes.
Recommended video:
Guided course
Polygenic Inheritance
Related Videos
Related Practice
Textbook Question
871
views