Question

Rudolph the Reindeer has a red nose (n), which is a recessive trait. Betsy the Reindeer has a black nose (N), which is a dominant trait, and she does not carry the recessive allele. Assume the rules of human genetics also apply to reindeer. If Rudolph and Betsy have a calf, what will its genotype be?

a) Either NN or Nn
b) Nn
c) nn
d) NN

Answer 1

The genotype of the calf will be Nn.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this case, since Betsy has a black nose (N) and does not carry the recessive allele for a red nose (n), she must have the genotype NN. Rudolph, on the other hand, has a red nose (n) which is a recessive trait, so his genotype must be nn. When Rudolph and Betsy have a calf, their genotypes will be Nn, as the calf will receive one dominant allele from Betsy (N) and one recessive allele from Rudolph (n).