Skyler Ross

Corn Lab Questions

Question 1:
a) Punnett Square:
PS
Ps
pS
ps

PS
PPSS
PPSs
PpSS
PpSs

Ps
PPSs
PPss
PpSs
Ppss

pS
PpSS
PpSs
ppSS
ppSs

ps
PpSs
Ppss
ppSs
ppss

Genotypic Ratio: 1 PPSS : 2 PPSs : 1 PPss : 2 PpSS : 4 PsSs : 1 Ppss : 1 ppSS : 2 ppSs :
1 ppss
Phenotypic Ratio: 9 purple smooth : 3 purple wrinkled : 3 yellow smooth : 1 yellow
wrinkled
Theoretical Results:
Out of 400 total kernels, the following numbers are the expected results:
Purple Smooth: 400*(9/16) = 225 kernels
Purple Wrinkled: 400*(3/16) = 75 kernels
Yellow Smooth: 400*(3/16) = 75 kernels
Yellow Wrinkled: 400*(1/16) = 25 kernels
b) Chi-square analysis:
Phenotype
Purple Smooth
Purple Wrinkled
Yellow Smooth
Yellow Wrinkled
2
X Total: 11.377
Degrees of Freedom: 3
P Value: <.01

(Observed Value Expected Value)2 /

(Expected Value)
4.271
2.253
0.853
4.000

These results are improbable because the P Value is below 0.05, indicating that the
difference between the observed and expected values is statistically significant and that
something other than random chance accounts for the actual results. Since genetics is a
science based on probability and random chance, it is highly unlikely that these results
would happen naturally.

Question 2:
Transposons, or jumping genes, are genes that can move from one location to another
on a chromosome. They can change the color of a corn kernel because if they are located
adjacent to a pigment-producing gene, the cells will be unable to produce a pigment. The
duration of the gene staying in that location determines how much of the kernel will not
have the pigment. The longer the transposon remains adjacent to the pigment-producing
gene, the most white the kernel will appear. Blotches, lines, and dots all result from the
activity of transposons. This explains how some kernels had varying colors from purple.
Transposons (Jumping Genes). (n.d.). Palomar College. Retrieved December 26, 2011,
from http://waynesword.palomar.edu/transpos.htm
Question 3:
(a) The original male had the genotype XEY and the original female had the genotype
XeXe. These are the only possible genotypes because only they result in all male recessive
phenotypes and all female wild type phenotypes in the F1 generation. The wild type allele
is dominant because all females in the F1 generation, which are also all heterozygous for
eye color, display the wild type trait. Also, the gene is known to be sex linked because all
F1 males display the recessive trait. If the gene were not sex linked and the male was
homozygous dominant, there would have been wild type males and white-eyed females
in the F1 generation.
(b)
F2 Generation
XE
Xe
Xe
XE Xe
Xe Xe
E
Y
X Y
Xe Y
Chi-squared analysis:
Phenotype
(Observed Expected)2 / (Expected)
Wild type male
.16
Wild type female
1.44
White-eyed male
.36
White-eyed female
.04
2
X Total: 2.0
Degrees of Freedom: 3
P Value: >.50
Since the P Value is greater than 0.05, the results of the F2 generation are considered to
be due to chance alone.
(c) A mutation is any change in the DNA of a cell. Two different types of mutations are
deletions and insertions. In a deletion, one or more nucleotides are removed from the
DNA sequence. Conversely, in an insertion, one or more nucleotides are improperly
added to the DNA sequence. The brown-eyed female in the F1 generation may have

resulted from these and other mutations, which led to the production of different proteins,
which, in turn, would lead to the phenotypic difference between this female and other
fruit flies.
Question 4:
CR
CR
CRCR
W
C
CRCW
Expected Genotypic Ratio: 1 CRCR : 2 CRCW : 1 CWCW
Expected Phenotypic Ratio: 1 red : 2 pink : 1 white
Chi-square analysis:
Phenotype
Red
Pink
White
2
X Total: 1.02
Degrees of Freedom: 2
P Value: .95

CW
CRCW
CWCW

(Observed Expected)2 / (Expected)

.16
.5
.36

Since the P Value is greater than 0.05, the results of this cross were due to random chance
alone.