Question

In fruit flies the allele for long wings (L) is dominant and the allele for short wings (l) is recessive. What is the likely genotype of a fruit fly with long wings?

Group of answer choices

Either LL or Ll

Either Ll or ll

Only LL

Only ll

Answer 1

A fruit fly with long wings can have either LL genotype or Ll genotype.

Explanation:

The allele for long wings (L) is dominant, meaning that it will express itself over the recessive allele for short wings (l). A fruit fly can inherit one of each allele from each parent, resulting in three possible genotypes: LL (homozygous dominant), Ll (heterozygous), or ll (homozygous recessive).

If a fruit fly has long wings, then it must have at least one L allele. It could have inherited one L allele from one parent and another L allele from the other parent (LL genotype), or it could have inherited one L allele from one parent and a l allele from the other parent (Ll genotype). Therefore, the likely genotype of a fruit fly with long wings is either LL or Ll.