Question

The vestigial gene (vg) in fruit flies can have a mutation, vg-, that confers tiny, useless wings; this phenotype is recessive to wild-type wings. The vestigial gene is on chromosome 2. The gene, hairy (h), in fruit flies can have a mutation, h-, that confers a hairy body; this phenotype is recessive to a wild-type, non-hairy body. The hairy gene is on chromosome 3. In fruit flies, the sex chromosome is chromosome 4. A vestigial-winged, hairy male is crossed with a wild-type female, homozygous at both genes. This F1 generation is crossed to produce the F2 generation. Which of the following are accurate regarding this F1 cross?

Answer 1

In fruit fly genetics, the inheritance of vestigial-winged and hairy traits through F1 and F2 generations depends on the specific locus of genes involved and is distinct from the inheritance of X-linked traits. Studies of fruit fly genetics aid in comprehending the patterns of X-linked traits in humans, such as color blindness and muscular dystrophy.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding Fruit Fly Genetics

The fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) serve as a model organism in genetics. When analyzing questions of inheritance, it's essential to consider the phenotypes and genotypes involved. In the case where a vestigial-winged, hairy male is crossed with a wild-type female homozygous at both genes and their F1 generation is crossed to produce the F2 generation, one must track the inheritance patterns for the different traits located on different chromosomes.

The vestigial wing gene (vg) and the hairy gene (h) are not X-linked; they are located on chromosomes 2 and 3, respectively. For X-linked traits, such as eye color in Drosophila, the inheritance pattern differs and is heavily dependent on the parental phenotypes and the sex of the offspring since males are hemizygous for the X chromosome they inherit.

Discoveries in fruit fly genetics offer a foundation for understanding human genetics, particularly with X-linked traits. This knowledge is applied to human conditions, such as color blindness and muscular dystrophy, which display different inheritance patterns in males and females due to the nature of X-linkage.