Dihybrid Problems with Solutions

Humans:
Normal skin pigment – Dominant Tongue roller - Dominant
Albino – Recessive Non-tongue roller - Recessive

Freckles – Dominant Black hair - Dominant

No Freckles – Recessive Light hair - Recessive

1. A father is heterozygous for black hair and heterozygous for

tongue-rolling. The mother is light-haired and heterozygous for
tongue-rolling. What is the probability of having a child with light
hair who is a tongue-roller?
Solution:
HhTt x hhTt => gametes (HT, Ht, hT, and ht) x (hT and ht)

hT ht

HT HhTT HhTt
Ht HhTt Hhtt
hT hhTT hhTt
ht hhTt hhtt

3/8 or 38% probalbility of having a light-haired tongue-roller.

2. A man who is heterozygous for freckles and black hair marries a

woman who is also heterozygous for freckles and black hair. Show
the possible genotypes and phenotypes for their children.
Solution:
FfHh x FfHh => gametes (FH, Fh, fH and fh) x (FH, Fh, fH, and fh)

FH Fh fH fh

FH FFHH FFHh FfHH FfHh

Fh FFHh FFhh FfHh Ffhh

fH fFHH fFHh ffHH ffHh

fh fFhH fFhh ffhH ffhh

9 Freckles and dark hair 3 Freckles and light hair 3No freckles and dark hair
1 No freckles and light hair

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3. A man who is heterozygous of albinism and is also a non-tongue
roller marries a woman who is an albino and heterozygous for
tongue-rolling. What is the probability that they will have an albino
tongue rolling offspring?

Solution:

Aatt x aaTt => gametes (At and at) x (aT and at)

aT at

At AaTt Aatt

at aaTt aatt

¼ or 25% probability.

4. A dihybrid cross between two green parakeets (BbCc X BbCc)

produces green, blue, yellow, and white offspring. Codominant
alleles B & C together = Green (neither gene is completely dominant
over the other). Homozygous or heterozygous dominant B alleles
with recessive c alleles = Blue. Homozygous or heterozygous
dominant C alleles with recessive b alleles = yellow. All recessive
alleles (bbcc) = white.

Required: Determine the expected phenotypic ratios for this cross

(BbCc X BbCc).

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Solution: BbCc x BbCc => gametes (BC, Bc, bC and bc) x (BC, Bc,
bC and bc)

Gamet
BC Bc bC bc
es

BBC BBC BbC BbC

BC
C c C c

Bc BBCc BBcc BbCc Bbcc

bC BbCC BbCc bbCC bbCc

bc BbCc Bbcc bbCc bbcc

B_C_ codominant => green (both blue and yellow pigments are produced,
neither dominant over the other)

bbcc homozygous recessive for both traits => white (no pigment
deposited in the feathers)

B_cc only blue pigment produced => blue pigment only

bbC_ only yellow pigment produced => yellow pigment only

9 green 3 blue 3 yellow 1 white

Adapted from: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer4.htm#parakeets

5. About 70% of Americans perceive a bitter taste from the chemical

phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). The ability to taste this chemical results from a
dominant allele (T) and not being able to taste PTC is the result of having two

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recessive alleles (t). Albinism is also a single locus trait with normal pigment
being dominant (A) and the lack of pigment being recessive (a). A normally
pigmented woman who cannot taste PTC has a father who is an albino taster.
She marries a homozygous, normally pigmented man who is a taster but who
has a mother that does not taste PTC. What are the expected genotypes and
phenotypes of the possible children?

Adapted from: http://www.ksu.edu/biology/pob/genetics/dihy.htm

Solution:

Female x male

Aatt x AATt => gametes (At and at) x (AT and At)

AT At

At AATt AAtt

at AaTt Aatt

Expected genotypes of the offspring: AATt, AAtt, AaTt, and Aatt.

Phenotypes: Normal pigmented tasters and normal pigmented non-tasters

1:1.

6. In turkeys a dominant gene R produces the familiar bronze color; its recessive allele r results
in red. Another dominant gene H results in normal feathers; its recessive allele h produces
feathers without webbing, so that they resemble tufts of hair. Two bronze turkeys with normal
feathers were mated, and their offspring consisted of 8 bronze with normal feathers, three
bronze with hairy feathers, two red with normal feathers, and one red with hairy feathers. What
were the genotypes of the parents?

Adapted from:
http://krupp.wcc.hawaii.edu/BIOL100/genetics/genetics2/GenProbII.htm

Solution:

Analysis offspring:

8 bronze/ normal feathers => R_H_

3 bronze hairy feathers => R_hh

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 2 red/normal feathers => rrH_

1 red/hairy feathers => rrhh This tells us that both parents carried r and h.

Both parents had an R and H gene (both dominant phenotypes were

expressed in the parents).

So taken together => parents: RrHh x RrHh

7. In horses black is dependent upon a dominant gene, B, and chestnut upon its recessive
allele, b. The trotting gait is due to a dominant allele T, and the pacing gait to its recessive allele,
t. If a homozygous black pacer is mated to a homozygous chestnut trotter, what will be the
appearance of the F1 generation?

Solution:

BBtt x bbTT => gametes (Bt) x (bT)

bT

Bt BbTt (F1’s)

All offspring are black trotters (BbTt)

8. Referring to the previous question (Question 7), what would be the genotypes and
phenotypes (and their expected ratios or percentages) of the offspring produced by a mating
between an F1 generation individual and a chestnut pacer?

Solution:

BbTt x bbtt => gametes (BT, Bt, bT, and bt) x (bt)

bt

BT BbTt

Bt Bbtt

bT bbTt

bt bbtt

Genotypic ratio => 1 BbTt: 1Bbtt: 1bbTt: 1 bbtt

Phenotypic ratio => 1 black trotter: 1 black pacer: 1 chestnut trotter: 1 chestnut pacer

Adapted from:
http://krupp.wcc.hawaii.edu/BIOL100/genetics/genetics2/GenProbII.htm

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