L earning Task No.

Drosophila Simulation - Patterns of Heredity

Objective: Students will learn and apply the principles of Mendelian inheritance by
experimentation with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Students will make hypotheses for
monohybrid, dihybrid and sex-linked traits and test their hypotheses by selecting fruit flies with
different visible mutations, mating them and analyzing the phenotypic ratios of the offspring.

Website: https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/drosophila_simulation.html (use this link

for the simulation)

The image above shows a wild-type female fly (left) and a male fly. The “wild-type" refers to the
most common or typical form seen in the wild. A + sign is used to denote when a fly displays the
wild-type characteristic.
Procedure
Open the simulation using the link provided. Examine the phenotypes available from the left side
menu to answer the following questions.
A. 1. Examine the different types of bristles seen in flies. Geneticists use a shorthand
labeling system, F = forked. Identify the phenotypes (observable characteristics) shown:

Singed (SN) Shaven (SV)

2. Compare antennae types. How is "aristapedia" different from wild-type?
The wild-type fruit fly exhibits fuzzy
antennae that extend outward on both sides of its
head, with a standard pair of antennae consisting of
slender, elongated structures protruding from the
head. These antennae are shorter and split into two
directions, diverging to the left and right.

In contrast, the aristapedia mutation presents

a distinct variation from the wild-type phenotype. In
aristapedia mutants, the antennae appear longer and
positioned closer together that protrude outwards, resembling branched structures reminiscent of
legs. This mutation disrupts the usual development of elongated antennae, leading to the loss of
the typical elongated form. Consequently, the aristapedia mutation alters the normal development
of the antennae, resulting in a phenotype that is noticeably different from the wild type.
 3. What are different eye colors in fruit flies? Circle the one that is wild-type.

Fruit flies exhibit eye colors that can range from red, brown, purple, sepia, to white.
Among these variations, the typical eye color observed in wild-type fruit flies appears
predominantly red compared to the other available colors.

4. Regarding wing size, what is the difference between apterous and vestigial?

The presence of apterous wings in a fly leads to the complete absence of wings, while
vestigial wings result in the development of wings that seem to lack functionality. Essentially,
apterous leaves a fly without wings, whereas vestigial at least produces flies with physical wings
that have limited functionality.

5. What are the body colors in fruit flies?

In fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), body colors can vary, with the most frequently
observed colors including:

● Wild-type (normal) body color: Usually a light brown or yellowish hue.

● Black: Certain genetic mutations can induce a black body coloration in fruit flies, either
uniformly or with patterns of black pigmentation.
● Ebony: Fruit flies with an ebony mutation display a dark brown body color.
● Sable: Fruit flies with a dark brown or black body coloration, often exhibiting a rich,
deep hue ranging from dark brown to nearly black.
● Tan: Some fruit flies may exhibit a tan or pale brown body color.
● Yellow: Flies with a yellow mutation present a vibrant yellow body color.

These are among the typical body colors observed in fruit flies, but additional variations
may arise due to specific genetic mutations and environmental influences.
 6. Create a mutant fly with any number of variations and mate it with a wild-type fly.

The male is a wild-type fly, while the female exhibits traits such as singed bristles,
aristapedia antenna, sepia eye color, bar eye shape, miniature and scalloped wing shape with a
tan body color.
How many offspring were wild-type? Despite mating, no offspring with the wild-type phenotype
were observed. Instead, the mating of this female with a wild type resulted in 939 observed flies,
with every alternate offspring displaying some type of mutation.
The reason why no wild-type offspring were observed despite the mating is likely due to
the fact that the female parent possessed multiple mutations in her genotype. These mutations
include singed bristles, aristapedia antenna, sepia eye color, bar eye shape, miniature and
scalloped wing shape, and tan body color.

Each of these mutations is inherited as a separate genetic trait, and the combination of
these mutations in the female parent likely resulted in the absence of the wild-type phenotype in
the offspring. When the female with multiple mutations is crossed with a wild-type male, the
offspring inherit a combination of alleles from both parents. In this case, the presence of multiple
mutations in the female parent's genotype would dominate the inheritance pattern, leading to the
expression of mutant phenotypes in the offspring rather than the wild-type phenotype.

Therefore, the absence of wild-type offspring can be attributed to the dominance of the
mutant alleles inherited from the female parent.

* You may realize that choosing a lot of different types of flies make it difficult to analyze
inheritance patterns.

7. Mate the offspring of the cross. Use the analyze tab to get more details about the F2
offspring. (The button to "ignore sex" may make counting easier.)
 I mated two F1 offspring and attempted a new parent combination involving a male
with singed bristles, bar eye shape, miniature and scalloped wing shape with tan body color to a
female exhibiting bar eye shape. This resulted in a variety of phenotypic traits.

How many wild-type offspring were produced? A total of 132 offspring with the wild-
type phenotypes were generated in the F2 generation.
How many mutant flies were produced? Mating two F1 offspring resulted in the
observation of a total of 941 non-wild-type flies in the F2 generation, all categorized as
mutants.

B. Your next tasks will focus on analyzing single traits within flies to determine how they
are inherited.
1. Reset all flies in the design tab.
2. Design a male fly with vestigial wings and cross it with a wild-type female.

3. Add the results to your "Lab Notes."

4. Mate the offspring of this cross.

4. Based on these two crosses you probably have an idea about how vestigial wings are
inherited.

● Is VG recessive or dominant? The recessive trait is vestigial wings, while the

dominant trait is wild-type wings.

● How do you know? This inference was drawn from the observation that all F1
generation offspring displayed the wild-type phenotype, suggesting that the
trait for vestigial wings was not visibly inherited from the initial cross,
implying it was not present in both parents. Since the vestigial wings trait was
only observed in the male fly and not the wild-type female, it indicates a
recessive trait. As a result, the F2 generation produced offspring, some of
which exhibited vestigial wings, showing fewer numbers compared to those
with the wild-type phenotype.

5. In genetics, numbers are statistically analyzed. The fly simulator has a built into it.
Under the Analyze tab, you can click on "Include a test hypothesis."

Wing size: A - + (Wild-type) a - vestigial (VG)

Genotypic Ratio: 1:2:1 Genotype: AA,Aa,Aa,aa

Phenotypic Ratio: 3:1 Phenotype:+ (Wild-type) and Vestigial (VG)
If your hypothesis that VG is a recessive trait is correct, then you would expect
what proportion of the F2 offspring to have vestigial wings? Input your
hypothesis (numerical only) in the table and select the test your hypothesis.

If the hypothesis that VG is a recessive trait is correct, then we would

expect a proportion of 0.25 (or 25%) of the F2 offspring to have vestigial wings.
This is based on the expected Mendelian ratio of 1:3 for a recessive trait.

Conversely, we would expect a proportion of 0.75 (or 75%) of the F2

offspring to have wild-type wings, as this is the complement to the proportion
with vestigial wings.

Therefore, the expected proportions for the F2 offspring, assuming VG is

a recessive trait, are as follows:

● Proportion with vestigial wings: 0.25

 ● Proportion with wild-type wings: 0.75

The results of the chi-squared test indicate a chi-squared test statistic of

0.00 and a level of significance of 0.9708. The degrees of freedom for this test are
1.

In statistical hypothesis testing, the chi-squared test statistic measures how

much the observed counts deviate from the expected counts under the null
hypothesis. A chi-squared test statistic of 0.00 suggests that there is no
discrepancy between the observed and expected counts, meaning that the
observed data align perfectly with the expected values.

Therefore, the hypothesis test conducted using the chi-squared test statistic
suggests that there is no significant difference between the observed and expected
values, indicating that the observed results align well with the hypothesis that VG
is a recessive trait.

The level of significance, also known as the p-value, is the probability of

obtaining a test statistic as extreme or more extreme than the one observed,
assuming that the null hypothesis is true. Here, with a level of significance of
0.9708, it indicates that the probability of observing the test statistic or a more
extreme one under the null hypothesis is 97.08%.

Based on these results, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. In other words,
there is no significant difference between the observed and expected counts.
Therefore, we accept the hypothesis that VG (vestigial wings) is a recessive trait.

What proportion would have wild-type wings? Assuming VG is a recessive trait,

we would expect approximately 75% of the F2 offspring to have wild-type wings.
This expectation is based on the Mendelian principle of inheritance, where a
recessive trait is only expressed in individuals that are homozygous for the
recessive allele. Therefore, the majority of the offspring, being heterozygous or
homozygous for the dominant allele, would exhibit the wild-type phenotype.

6. Summary: Explain how vestigial wings are inherited in fruit flies (claim) and
provide evidence from your data.

In the F2 generation, the observed ratio of offspring with vestigial wings to those
with wild-type wings is approximately 1:3. This ratio closely aligns with the expected
Mendelian ratio for a recessive trait, where one-fourth (25%) of the offspring are
expected to exhibit the recessive phenotype when both parents are heterozygous carriers
of the trait.
 Additionally, the chi-squared test statistic obtained from the data analysis
indicates that there is no significant difference between the observed and expected values,
further supporting the hypothesis that vestigial wings are inherited as a recessive trait.

Furthermore, the data suggests that when the hypothesis of vestigial wings being a
recessive trait is applied, the expected proportion of F2 offspring with vestigial wings is
25%, which is consistent with the observed proportion.

Overall, the evidence from the data analysis supports the claim that vestigial
wings in fruit flies are inherited through a recessive mode of inheritance.

C. Sex Linked Traits

1. Cross a white eyed male with a wild-type female.

How many of the offspring are males / red eyes? There are 493 offspring with
male flies exhibiting red eyes.
How many females / red eyes? There are 527 offspring with female flies
exhibiting red eyes.

2. Predict what would happen if you crossed two of the offspring. Explain your
reasoning.
If the two offspring were to be crossed, their offspring would display a phenotypic
ratio of 3 red eyes to 1 white eye (3:1). This outcome arises because both parents (F1
generation) would possess a heterozygous trait, with red eyes being the dominant trait
and carrying the recessive white eyes trait. Consequently, among their offspring (F2
generation), one would inherit the homozygous dominant trait, two would inherit the
heterozygous trait, wherein the dominant allele would mask the recessive one, and one
would inherit the recessive trait. As a result, there would be 3 offspring with red eyes and
1 with white eyes.

Eye color: A - + (Wild-type) a - white (W)

Genotypic Ratio: 1:2:1 Genotype: AA,Aa,Aa,aa

Phenotypic Ratio: 3:1 Phenotype:+ (Wild-type) and White (W)
3. Perform the cross and analyze. Test your hypothesis (prediction).

Based on the data provided, the chi-squared test statistic is calculated to be 3.36,
with 1 degree of freedom. The level of significance, or p-value, associated with this test is
0.0669.

In hypothesis testing, the chi-squared test statistic measures the discrepancy

between the observed and expected counts under the null hypothesis. A higher
chi-squared test statistic indicates a greater deviation from the expected values.

The level of significance (p-value) represents the probability of observing the test
statistic or a more extreme value, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. A p-value less
than the chosen significance level (often 0.05) suggests that the observed data is unlikely
to have occurred under the null hypothesis, leading to rejection of the null hypothesis.
Conversely, a p-value greater than the significance level indicates that there is insufficient
evidence to reject the null hypothesis.

In this case, the p-value of 0.0669 is slightly higher than the common significance
level of 0.05. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This means that there is not
enough evidence to conclude that the observed deviations between the observed and
expected counts are statistically significant. In other words, the observed data is
consistent with the null hypothesis, suggesting that the proportions of the observed
phenotype are in line with the expected proportions based on the hypothesis.

4. Summary: Explain how red/white eye color is inherited in fruit flies (claim) and
provide evidence from your data.
 Claim: Red/white eye color in fruit flies is inherited according to Mendelian principles,
with red eyes being dominant and white eyes being recessive.

Evidence from the data:

1. The observed proportions of wild-type (red-eyed) and white-eyed fruit flies

closely align with the expected proportions based on Mendelian inheritance.
2. The chi-squared test statistic of 3.36 indicates that there is some deviation
between the observed and expected frequencies, but it is not statistically
significant at the 0.05 level.
3. The p-value of 0.0669, although slightly higher than the typical significance level
of 0.05, suggests that there is no strong evidence to reject the null hypothesis.

Explanation: The occurrence of red and white eyes in fruit flies is gender-specific, with
females consistently exhibiting red eyes, while males can display either red or white eyes
based on the genotype of the parents. According to Mendelian inheritance, traits such as
eye color in fruit flies are determined by the interaction of alleles. In this case, red eye
color is dominant (represented by the "+" phenotype), while white eye color is recessive
(represented by the "W" phenotype). If one parent carries the dominant allele for red eyes
and the other carries the recessive allele for white eyes, the offspring will inherit the
dominant trait and have red eyes. Even if both parents have red eyes, the offspring will
still inherit red eyes due to the dominance of the allele. However, for the offspring to
have white eyes, both parents must carry the recessive allele.

Based on the data provided and the interpretation of the chi-squared test, we fail
to reject the hypothesis. This suggests that the observed frequencies of red-eyed and
white-eyed fruit flies are consistent with the expected frequencies based on Mendelian
inheritance. Therefore, the claim that red/white eye color in fruit flies is inherited
according to Mendelian principles, with red eyes being dominant and white eyes being
recessive, is supported by the data.

C. Linkage Groups
When two alleles are located on the same chromosome they are inherited together.
However, crossing-over can occur during meiosis and the alleles are switched. Vestigial
wings (VG) and Black body color (BL) are located on chromosome 2.
1. Cross a female VG, BL fly with a wild-type male. (ggbb x GGBB)
 How many wild-type offspring are produced? A total of 1029 offspring with the
wild-type phenotype were generated.

What is the genotype of these offspring? The genotype of the offspring resulting
from the cross between ggbb and GGBB would be GgBb.

2. Choose a female from the offspring and mate it with a male that has vestigial wings
and a black body. Show a punnett square or a visual representation of the alleles
involved in this cross to make a prediction about the offspring. (how to solve using
Punnett square: https://youtu.be/1QU2phs-hws )

LEGEND

Body Color Wing Size

● GB - + (Wild-type) ● G - +Wild-type wings

● Gb - +Wild-type wings, BL ● g - Vestigial wings

● gB - VG, +Wild-type color ● B - + (Wild-type)

● gb - VG, BL ● b - Black

Genotypic Ratio: 1:1:1:1 Genotype: GgBb, Ggbb, ggBb, ggbb

Phenotypic Ratio: 1:1 Phenotype: + (Wild-type), + Wild-type
wing w/BL, VG, + Wild-type color, VG, BL

In this particular cross, approximately 25% of the offspring will exhibit a GgBb
genotype, another 25% will have a Ggbb genotype, a further 25% will possess a ggBb
genotype, and the remaining 25% will display a ggbb genotype. Regarding the
phenotypic outcomes, there will be an equal distribution among the offspring: 25% will
exhibit the wild-type phenotype, another 25% will display the wild-type wing phenotype
with a black body, an additional 25% will present with vestigial wings and a wild-type
body color, and the remaining 25% will showcase vestigial wings with a black body
color.

3. Complete the table (ignore sex).

Phenotype Observed Proportion

+ (wild-type) 447 0.4502
Vestigial wings (gg) 78 0.0785
Black body (bb) 83 0.0836
VG, BL (ggbb) 385 0.3877

4. How does crossing-over affect the observed outcomes? Explain why the observed
flies do not match your prediction.
Crossing-over significantly impacts both the predicted and observed outcomes of
genetic crosses by introducing genetic diversity and producing unique offspring. In our
initial predictions, we only considered offspring that were born without the occurrence of
crossing-over. However, in reality, crossing-over does take place during the process of
meiosis, resulting in genetically diverse offspring that differ from our predictions.

Crossing-over is a crucial mechanism that occurs between homologous

chromosomes during meiosis. It involves the exchange of genetic material between
non-sister chromatids, producing new combinations of alleles. By shuffling genetic
information, crossing-over creates offspring with a wider range of genetic diversity,
allowing for increased variation within a population.

The introduction of genetic diversity through crossing-over means that the

observed phenotypic ratios resulting from genetic crosses often deviate from the exact
ratios predicted using traditional techniques such as punnett squares. This discrepancy
can be attributed to the generation of new allele combinations that were not accounted for
in our initial predictions. Therefore, when studying the outcomes of genetic crosses, it is
essential to consider the effects of crossing-over in order to understand the observed
variation.

Additionally, fly crosses can yield unexpected results due to the presence of
mutant alleles. Offspring that inherit a higher number of mutant alleles face a reduced
probability of surviving to adulthood, known as the "lethal load." This phenomenon
arises because an accumulation of mutant alleles can lead to severe developmental
abnormalities or physiological impairments, hindering the survival of the offspring.
 It is important to note that even though genetic crosses can be accurately
predicted based on known genetic compositions, the occurrence of crossing-over can
introduce new genetic combinations, influencing the phenotypic outcomes. Moreover,
various factors such as genetic interactions, recombination frequencies, and the sample
size used in simulations can further contribute to the disparities between predictions and
observations.

In conclusion, crossing-over plays a significant role in shaping the genetic

diversity and unique characteristics of offspring in genetic crosses. It serves as a
mechanism for introducing genetic variation by exchanging genetic material between
homologous chromosomes. This genetic diversity obtained through crossing-over leads to
deviations between the predicted and observed phenotypic ratios in genetic crosses.
Additionally, the presence of mutant alleles can impact the survival of offspring, resulting
in unexpected outcomes. Recognizing the influence of crossing-over expands our
understanding of genetic inheritance and highlights the intricate nature of genetic
diversity within populations.