Lab Exercise: Principles of Inheritance

Introduction
Inherited traits are passed from parents to offspring. Traits are coded in the DNA of
chromosomes which are passed to offspring through asexual or sexual reproduction. Cells are
reproduced by mitosis or meiosis and cell division. In both types of cell reproduction,
chromosomes are passed to the daughter cells. Thus traits are passed from cell to cell and from
organism to organism. Over time the traits that help a population of organisms to adapt and
survive their environment are selected and passed on to the next generations.
For sexual reproduction gametes are formed by cells in reproductive organs through the
process of meiosis and cell division. Prior to meiosis, the chromosomes of the parent cell
replicate. The cell then divides twice to form four gametes. Each gamete receives only one of
each chromosome pair and so contains half the number of chromosomes found in the parent cell.
The number of chromosomes is restored when two gametes unite during fertilization. The
fertilized egg (zygote) contains a complete set of paired chromosomes. One chromosome of
each pair was present in the egg and so was inherited from the female parent. Genes are
located on chromosomes so half the genetic make-up of the offspring comes from the male
parent and half from the female parent.
Objectives
Materials
Procedure:
Model 1.

Examine the genetic cross depicted in Model 1 and answer the following questions.
1. What trait is different between the two parent mice?
2. What are the two different alleles for this trait?
3. Which allele is expressed (shows) in all of the offspring?
4. Based on your answer to number 3, which allele would be considered dominant? Which is
recessive?
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5. Assume that the gene for coat color is named with the letter f. Indicate which letter case
(upper or lower) would be used for each allele.
Dark coat color
________
Light coat color
________
6. Remembering that each diploid cell contains two of each type of chromosome and thus two of
each gene, what are the three possible combinations of alleles that a mouse in this population
could have? (Or in other words what are the three possible genotypes for this population?) Write
these in the first column of the table below.
7. The pre-fix homo means the same while the pre-fix hetero means different. For each of
the possible genotypes indicate in the second column of the table if they are homozygous (two of
the same letter case) or heterozygous (each of the two letters a different letter case).
8. You should have two of the three genotypes labeled homozygous. For each homozygous
genotype indicate in the third column of the table if they are homozygous dominant or
homozygous recessive.
9. What would the coat color be for each of the three possible genotypes? List these in the
fourth column of the table.

Genoty
pe

Homozygous or
heterozygous

Dominant or
Recessive

Phenotype (or
color expressed)

10. How many and which genotypes can create a white coat color?

11. How many and which genotypes can create a dark coat color?

Model 2
Figure A

Figure B

Examine Model 2 and answer the following questions.

12. What is the genotype of the parent in Figure A?
13. What are the genotypes of the parents in Figure B?
White coat ___________
Dark coat ____________
14. What is the process that creates the male and female gametes?
15. During meiosis, homologous chromosomes are separated resulting in a separation of the two
alleles into different gametes. The second round of meiosis also separates sister chromatids
resulting in four possible gametes with one unduplicated chromosome each. This is shown in the
boxes in figure 1 of Model 2.
a. In figure 1, are there any duplicate alleles?
b. If you were to reduce the possible types of alleles carried by gametes so that there are
no duplicates, what
would they be?
c. To simplify genetic crosses, duplicates are typically removed. Thus In figure 2 of Model
2, only two possible
gametes are depicted to eliminate duplicates. Indicate in the squares
what each allele would be.

Model 3
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Read This: During fertilization either possible sperm/male gamete could fuse with either possible
ovum/or female gamete. A Punnett square can be used to determine all possible gamete
combinations and predict what traits the offspring might inherit from the parents.
The male gamete alleles are written in the left hand column. The female gametes are written in
the top of the last two columns. (This is for convenience as the location of the male and female
gametes could be flipped and still show the same results.)
16. Write the allele for each male gamete by the sperm in the left hand column of the Punnett
square in Model 3.
17. Write the allele for each female gamete in each ovum along the top of the Punnett square in
Model 3.
18. Each possible sperm could fuse with each possible ovum or egg. In the figure, the outcome
of the top sperm and first ovum is shown. Fill in the remaining three squares to show all four
possible combinations.
19. How many of the offsprings genotype will be
a. Homozygous dominant?
b. Heterozygous?
c. Homozygous recessive?
d. The genotypes can be expressed as a ratio to depict
the probable outcome of the cross. Using the pattern of
the number of FF:Ff:ff express the ratio of each genotype
for this cross.
FF : Ff : ff
____:____:____
20. How many of the offsprings phenotypes will be
a. White coat?
b. Dark coat?
c. The phenotypes can be expressed as a ratio to depict the probable outcome of the
cross. Use the pattern of the number of the dominant phenotypes to the number of recessive
phenotypes.
Dark coat:White coat
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____ : ____

Practice Punnett Square Problems

For these genetic crosses use the following steps to determine the possible offsprings genotypes
and phenotypes.
A. Choose a letter of the alphabet to represent the gene
B. Based on the information about dominant and recessive alleles given, assign the
capital letter for the
dominant allele and the lower case letter for the recessive allele.
C. Determine the genotype of each parent
D. Based on the parents genotypes determine what allele each gamete will have.
E. Place the male gamete alleles in the first column and the female gametes in the top
row of the last two columns.
F. Fill in the allele combinations resulting from fertilization for the four possible offspring.
G. Determine the offsprings genotype and phenotype ratios.

21. Purple flowering pea plants are crossed with white flowering pea plants. The allele for purple
flowers is dominant.
A. Flower color gene = _________ (choose a letter)
B. Purple allele = __________

White allele = __________

C. Male parents genotype = _________

D. Gametes

Female parents genotype = ___________

Male ____ and _____

Female ____ and _____

E. and F. Fill in the Punnett square

G. Genotype ratio (Follow this pattern AA:Aa:aa)
Phenotype ratio (Purple:White)

22. A heterozygous purple flowering pea plant is crossed with another heterozygous purple
flowering pea plant.
A. Flower color gene = _________ (choose a letteryou can use the same as for the
previous question)
B. Purple allele = __________

White allele = __________

C. Male parents genotype = _________

D. Gametes

Female parents genotype = ___________

Male ____ and _____

Female ____ and _____

E. and F. Fill in the Punnett square

G. Genotype ratio (Follow this pattern AA:Aa:aa)

Phenotype ratio (Purple:White)

23. A homozygous dominant plant that produces round seeds is crossed with a homozygous
recessive plant that produces wrinkled seeds. The round seed allele is dominant over the
wrinkled seed allele.
A. Seed shape gene = _________ (choose a letter)
B. Round allele = __________

Wrinkled allele = __________

C. Male parents genotype = _________

D. Gametes

Female parents genotype = ___________

Male ____ and _____

E. and F. Fill in the Punnett square

G. Genotype ratio (Follow this pattern AA:Aa:aa)

Phenotype ratio (Round:wrinkled)

Female ____ and _____

24. Two pea plants heterozygous for pod coloration are crossed with each other. Green pods are
dominant over yellow pods.
A. Pod color gene = _________ (choose a letter)
B. Green allele = __________

Yellow allele = __________ (remember to use the same

letter, just different case).

C. Male parents genotype = _________

D. Gametes

Female parents genotype = ___________

Male ____ and _____

Female ____ and _____

E. and F. Fill in the Punnett square

G. Genotype ratio (Follow this pattern AA:Aa:aa)

Phenotype ratio (Green:Yellow)

25. In guinea pigs there is a gene that codes for fur color. The dominant allele codes for brown
fur and the recessive allele codes for black fur. Determine the outcome of crossing a
heterozygous guinea pig with a homozygous recessive (black) guinea pig.
A. Fur color gene = _________ (choose a letter)
B. Brown allele = __________

Black allele = __________ (remember to use the same

letter, just different case).

C. Male parents genotype = _________

D. Gametes

Female parents genotype = ___________

Male ____ and _____

E. and F. Fill in the Punnett square

G. Genotype ratio (Follow this pattern AA:Aa:aa)

Phenotype ratio (Brown:Black)

Female ____ and _____