Traits In Drosophila Melanogaster

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Introduction In this experiment the Mendelian laws of inheritance were used to investigate the inheritance traits in Drosophila Melanogaster. Gregor Johann Mendel, is a famous and important figure in the study of genetics, he is remembered as the father of genetics. Mendel is most known for a study in which he grew, crossed, recorded, and analyzed pea plants. His findings lead him to his laws of inheritance. (Brooker, 2012). The purpose of the experiment was to investigate the inheritance of traits in D. melanogaster and determine the genotypes of the F1 (first filial or hybrid) and F2 generation and their phenotype by using the Mendelian monohybrid, dihybrid, and a sex-linked crosses. A monohybrid cross takes place between two parents expressing…show more content…
Its development as a model genetic system was accredited to Thomas Hunt Morgan, who in 1910, published one of the first description of sex linkage. (Fisher and de Beer, 1947). During one of his experiment involving multiple sex linked mutations, he observed unexpected combination of phenotypes in the offspring from those crosses leading him to his hypothesis that there is a physical exchange of genetically information during the formation of gametes in D. melanogaster. (Garey et al., 2015). This organism has allowed genetic research to expand its fundamental principles more than any other multicellular eukaryote. (Garey et al., 2015). It has been useful for the study of genetic diseases. Developmental defects such as mesenchymal malformations associated with Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, formation of intracellular inclusions in polyglutamine-tract repeat disorders such as spinocerebellar ataxia and Huntington disease have been analyzed effectively using D. melanogaster as the model genetic system. (Reiter et al., 2001). The life cycle of D. melanogaster, plays a major part in its effectiveness in the study genetics. It has a four stage life cycle (egg, larva, pupae, and adult) that ranges between 10-15 days. Interesting, when propagated at 21°C, the progression from egg to adult usually takes about two weeks. However, when the temperature is maintained around 25°C, the life cycle is…show more content…
The F1 generation received came from a monohybrid cross of the P generation between a homozygous female with a genotype ap/ap and a homozygous male with a genotype se/se. The flies were put to sleep while the container was sideways and five males and five females were assorted to be transferred into a new vial where the monohybrid cross would take place. While the flies were being napped and sexed, a new vial was prepared for the cross. A glass container was obtained and filled with a scoop of dry fly food, and an equal amount of water was added to the container to obtain a mashed potatoes consistency. Then, about one inch of food was added to the bottom of the vial, and five granules of yeast were added to the top of the food. A piece of plastic netting was slide into the vial. The vial was labeled with a group number, section number, date, and the genotype of the cross. Once the vial was prepared, the napped flies were carefully placed inside of it. Finally, a piece of foam was placed in the opening of the vial. The vial was still kept on its side until the flies woke up. The flies were left alone for a period of one

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