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Ch. 4 - Modification of Mendelian Ratios
Klug - Essentials of Genetics 10th Edition
Klug10th EditionEssentials of GeneticsISBN: 9780135588789Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 4, Problem 26

Five human matings (1–5), identified by both maternal and paternal phenotypes for ABO and MN blood-group antigen status, are shown on the left side of the following table:
Table showing five parental phenotype pairs for ABO and MN blood groups matched with five offspring phenotypes for a matching exercise.
Each mating resulted in one of the five offspring shown in the right-hand column (a–e). Match each offspring with one correct set of parents, using each parental set only once. Is there more than one set of correct answers?

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1
Step 1: Understand the inheritance patterns for both ABO and MN blood groups. The ABO blood group is determined by three alleles (I^A, I^B, and i), where I^A and I^B are codominant and i is recessive. The MN blood group is determined by two codominant alleles (M and N).
Step 2: For each parental pair, list the possible genotypes based on their phenotypes. For example, a parent with blood group A could be I^A I^A or I^A i, and a parent with blood group AB must be I^A I^B. Similarly, for MN, a parent with phenotype M could be M M or M N, and N must be N N.
Step 3: Determine all possible offspring genotypes for each parental pair by combining the parental alleles for both ABO and MN systems. Use Punnett squares or allele combination tables to find all possible offspring phenotypes.
Step 4: Match each offspring phenotype (a–e) to the parental pair (1–5) whose possible offspring phenotypes include that offspring. Remember to consider both ABO and MN phenotypes together for accurate matching.
Step 5: After matching all offspring to parental pairs, check if any offspring phenotype can be produced by more than one parental pair. This will help determine if there is more than one correct set of answers.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

ABO Blood Group Inheritance

The ABO blood group system is determined by three alleles (A, B, and O) with A and B being codominant and O recessive. Each individual inherits one allele from each parent, and the combination determines the blood type. Understanding parental genotypes helps predict possible offspring blood types.
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MN Blood Group Inheritance

The MN blood group is controlled by two codominant alleles, M and N, located on a single gene. Individuals can be MM, MN, or NN, and the phenotype reflects the presence of these alleles. Parental MN genotypes determine the possible MN phenotypes in offspring.
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Genetic Matching and Phenotypic Prediction

Matching offspring phenotypes to parental phenotypes requires understanding how alleles combine and segregate during reproduction. By analyzing both ABO and MN systems, one can predict which offspring phenotypes are possible from given parental pairs and determine if multiple parental sets can produce the same offspring phenotype.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Horses can be cremello (a light cream color), chestnut (a brownish color), or palomino (a golden color with white in the horse's tail and mane). Of these phenotypes, only palominos never breed true.

Predict the F1 and F2 results of many initial matings between cremello and chestnut horses.

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Textbook Question

Pigment in mouse fur is only produced when the C allele is present. Individuals of the cc genotype are white. If color is present, it may be determined by the A, a alleles. AA or Aa results in agouti color, while aa results in black coats. What F₁ and F₂ genotypic and phenotypic ratios are obtained from a cross between AACC and aacc mice?

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Textbook Question

Pigment in mouse fur is only produced when the C allele is present. Individuals of the cc genotype are white. If color is present, it may be determined by the A, a alleles. AA or Aa results in agouti color, while aa results in black coats. In three crosses between agouti females whose genotypes were unknown and males of the aacc genotype, the following phenotypic ratios were obtained:

(1) 8 agouti

(2) 9 agouti

(3) 4 agouti, 8 white 10 black, 5 black, 10 white

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Textbook Question

Two mothers give birth to sons at the same time at a busy urban hospital. The son of mother 1 is afflicted with hemophilia, a disease caused by an X-linked recessive allele. Neither parent has the disease. Mother 2 has a normal son, despite the fact that the father has hemophilia. Several years later, couple 1 sues the hospital, claiming that these two newborns were swapped in the nursery following their birth. As a genetic counselor, you are called to testify. What information can you provide the jury concerning the allegation?

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Textbook Question

In Dexter and Kerry cattle, animals may be polled (hornless) or horned. The Dexter animals have short legs, whereas the Kerry animals have long legs. When many offspring were obtained from matings between polled Kerrys and horned Dexters, half were found to be polled Dexters and half polled Kerrys. When these two types of F₁ cattle were mated to one another, the following F₂ data were obtained:

3/8 polled Dexters

3/8 polled Kerrys

1/8 horned Dexters

1/8 horned Kerrys

A geneticist was puzzled by these data and interviewed farmers who had bred these cattle for decades. She learned that Kerrys were true breeding. Dexters, on the other hand, were not true breeding and never produced as many offspring as Kerrys. Provide a genetic explanation for these observations.

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