Question

The curled ears of the American Curl cat are caused by an autosomal dominant allele. What are the chances of a heterozygous female and a homozygous recessive male producing offspring with curled ears?

A) 0%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 100%

Answer 1

For a heterozygous female (Cc) and a homozygous recessive male (cc) mating, there is a 50% chance that their offspring will have curled ears.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has asked about the chances of a heterozygous female and a homozygous recessive male producing offspring with curled ears if the curled ear trait in American Curl cats is caused by an autosomal dominant allele. In this genetic cross, the female cat (heterozygous) has one allele for curled ears (C) and one for normal ears (c), represented as Cc. The male cat (homozygous recessive) has two alleles for normal ears, represented as cc. When these two cats mate, their offspring have a 50% chance of inheriting the curled ear allele from the heterozygous female parent.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is C) 50% chance of the offspring having curled ears.