If you wanted to identify what proportion of trait variation is due to the environment, you would do what?
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Genetics51m
- 2. Mendel's Laws of Inheritance3h 37m
- 3. Extensions to Mendelian Inheritance2h 41m
- 4. Genetic Mapping and Linkage2h 28m
- 5. Genetics of Bacteria and Viruses1h 21m
- 6. Chromosomal Variation1h 48m
- 7. DNA and Chromosome Structure56m
- 8. DNA Replication1h 10m
- 9. Mitosis and Meiosis1h 34m
- 10. Transcription1h 0m
- 11. Translation58m
- 12. Gene Regulation in Prokaryotes1h 19m
- 13. Gene Regulation in Eukaryotes44m
- 14. Genetic Control of Development44m
- 15. Genomes and Genomics1h 50m
- 16. Transposable Elements47m
- 17. Mutation, Repair, and Recombination1h 6m
- 18. Molecular Genetic Tools19m
- 19. Cancer Genetics29m
- 20. Quantitative Genetics1h 26m
- 21. Population Genetics50m
- 22. Evolutionary Genetics29m
20. Quantitative Genetics
Analyzing Trait Variance
Problem 4c
Textbook Question
A dark-red strain and a white strain of wheat are crossed and produce an intermediate, medium-red F₁. When the F₁ plants are interbred, an F₂ generation is produced in a ratio of 1 dark-red: 4 medium-dark-red: 6 medium-red: 4 light-red: 1 white. Further crosses reveal that the dark-red and white F₂ plants are true breeding
Assign symbols to these alleles, and list possible genotypes that give rise to the medium-red and light-red phenotypes.

1
Assign symbols to the alleles: Let two genes, A and B, control the color in wheat. Each gene has two alleles: A (dominant) and a (recessive), and B (dominant) and b (recessive). The intensity of the red color is determined by the number of dominant alleles (A or B) present in the genotype.
Understand the phenotypic ratio: The F₂ generation shows a 1:4:6:4:1 ratio, which suggests that two genes are involved, and the phenotypes are determined by the additive effects of the dominant alleles. For example, dark-red corresponds to the maximum number of dominant alleles (4), while white corresponds to no dominant alleles (0).
Determine the genotypes for medium-red: Medium-red corresponds to the intermediate phenotype, which occurs when there are two dominant alleles in the genotype. Possible genotypes for medium-red are AABb, AaBB, AaBb, and aaBB.
Determine the genotypes for light-red: Light-red corresponds to a phenotype with one dominant allele. Possible genotypes for light-red are Aabb, aaBb, and AAbb.
Verify the true-breeding genotypes: The problem states that dark-red and white plants are true breeding. This means the dark-red genotype is AABB, and the white genotype is aabb. These genotypes help confirm the additive model of inheritance for this trait.

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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Incomplete Dominance
Incomplete dominance occurs when the phenotype of heterozygotes is intermediate between the phenotypes of the two homozygotes. In this case, crossing a dark-red strain with a white strain results in an F₁ generation that exhibits a medium-red phenotype, indicating that neither allele is completely dominant over the other.
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Variations on Dominance
Phenotypic Ratios
Phenotypic ratios describe the relative frequencies of different phenotypes in a given generation. The F₂ generation's ratio of 1 dark-red: 4 medium-dark-red: 6 medium-red: 4 light-red: 1 white suggests a complex inheritance pattern, likely involving multiple alleles and incomplete dominance, which can be analyzed to determine the underlying genotypes.
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Mutations and Phenotypes
True Breeding
True breeding refers to organisms that, when self-fertilized, produce offspring identical to themselves for a particular trait. In this scenario, the dark-red and white F₂ plants are true breeding, meaning they possess homozygous genotypes that consistently express their respective phenotypes, which is crucial for understanding the inheritance patterns in the crosses.
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