Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Mendelian Inheritance
Mendelian inheritance refers to the principles of heredity established by Gregor Mendel, which include the concepts of dominant and recessive traits. In this context, the eye color traits in Drosophila demonstrate these principles, where red is the dominant trait and the mutants (apricot, brown, carnation, and purple) are recessive. Understanding how these traits segregate during gamete formation is essential for predicting phenotype ratios in offspring.
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Phenotypic Ratios
Phenotypic ratios represent the relative frequencies of different phenotypes in the offspring resulting from genetic crosses. In the case of Drosophila eye color, the ratios can be predicted based on the genotypes of the parents and the dominance of traits. For example, a typical monohybrid cross involving one dominant and one recessive trait would yield a 3:1 ratio in the F₂ generation, which is crucial for analyzing the results of the specified crosses.
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Pure-Breeding Lines
Pure-breeding lines consist of organisms that consistently produce offspring with a specific phenotype when crossed among themselves. In the context of the question, the pure-breeding lines for eye color mutants ensure that the traits are homozygous, allowing for predictable inheritance patterns. This concept is vital for understanding the outcomes of the crosses A, B, D, and G, as it establishes the genetic background from which the F₂ phenotypes will arise.
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