Chapter 11, Problem 20STP

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The crosses Mendel would have performed to determine which color is the dominant trait.

Introduction:

Each organism receives two version of the same gene, and these versions are termed as alleles. If different alleles are present in the gene, then the dominant allele will express itself and mask the effect of recessive allele. So, there are two types of alleles, dominant allele and recessive allele.

Answer to Problem 20STP

The cross Mendel would have performed to determine which color is the dominant trait is monohybrid cross.

Explanation of Solution

Given:

The type of pea plants investigated by Mendel has white and purple flowers. One color is dominant over other color.

To determine which color is the dominant trait, the Mendel must have performed monohybrid cross. He must have fertilized pure-breeding parents, P1 and P2, and named the progeny as F1. As, one of the flower has dominant character, so all the flowers in F1 generation have similar color to one of the parents. Now, he must have self-fertilized F1 generation, to obtain F2 generation. In F2 generation, the maximum flowers are of dominant color.