Final answer:
In a bacterial cross between an Hfr (donor) strain that is a+b+ and a recipient (F) strain that is ab, the expected recombinant bacteria will be a mixture of a+b+ and ab.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a bacterial cross between an Hfr (donor) strain that is a+b+ and a recipient (F) strain that is ab, the expected recombinant bacteria will be a mixture of a+b+ and ab.
This is because during conjugation, the Hfr cell transfers its chromosomal DNA to the recipient cell, which can result in the transfer of a+b+ genes as well as ab genes. Therefore, the recombinant bacteria will have a combination of both types of genes.