Marybelle Panlilio

Period 2
11-12-14

Baby Genetics Lab

Sexual reproduction produces variety within the offspring via meiosis. There are 2
divisions in meiosis, Meiosis I and Meiosis II. Meiosis I is where there is most variety,
and is split into 4 phases; Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, and Telophase I. In
Prophase I, the homologous pairs cross over, causing the random exchange of alleles.
This random exchange of alleles causes more variety within the offspring, where one of
the alleles are exchanged for another. These alleles can exchange with each other if they
are located on the same loci (position). Metaphase I have the pairs line up in the middle,
side by side with its pair. This process is random in how they align. Anaphase I separates
the homologous pairs, and Telophase I causes each cell to have half the number of
chromosomes. Meiosis II follows the same process, except it ends up separating the
chromosomes to chromatids, and ending up with four daughter cells, each with variety.
In this lab, we had to flip two pennies in order to determine various genotypes for
the phenotypes. In our paper, in order to determine the pair or pairs, we were inheritance
patterns. These inheritance patterns are Mendelian Dominance and Incomplete
Dominance. We also had polygenic traits and sex determination.
Mendelian Dominance is when a dominant allele (normally shown by a capital
letter) is the expressed phenotype. This happens when the dominant homozygous pair is
paired with a recessive (normally shown by a lowercase letter) homozygous pair. An
example of this in the data from my lab is the alleles for eye shape. When I flipped the
coins, I ended up with two capital Rs (RR). The allele for a capital R was a round eye
shape, which was the dominant gene, so I got a round eye shape. If I had gotten a capital
R and a lowercase R (Rr), the expressed phenotype would still be round eye shape, due to
the rules of Mendelian dominance. However, if I got two lowercase Rs (rr), I wouldve
gotten the almond eye shape. This is because there is no dominant allele, so it shows the
recessive allele.
Incomplete Dominance is where one allele does not overtake another. This results
the blending of alleles, and causes both alleles to affect the phenotype. An example of this
in the data of my lab is the alleles for eye brows. This gene pair follows Incomplete
Dominance. When I flipped my coins, I got one capital F (full eye brows) and one
lowercase F (thin eye brows). Due to Incomplete Dominance, the two alleles blended
together and produced medium eye brows for the phenotype.
Polygenic Traits have many gene pairs for one trait. This causes variety within our
population. An example of a polygenic trait in this lab is the hair color of the baby. When
I flipped my coins for the three pairs, I got Bb, bb, and Rr (Uppercase B is brown,
lowercase B is blond, Uppercase R is dark brown, and lowercase R is red hair.) for the
genotypes. This made dark blond hair with a tint of red, as all pairs followed Incomplete

Dominance. Due to the how many pairs there are compared to the rest of the genes, there
are many possibilities for hair color.
Sex Determination needs 2 sex chromosomes in order to decide the gender of the
baby. When the egg and the sperm come together, the egg always contains one X
chromosome, whereas the sperm can carry one X chromosome or one Y chromosome. If
there are two X chromosomes, the offspring is a female. If there is one X chromosome
and one Y chromosome, the offspring is a male. During this lab, we determined the
gender of our child by flipping the pennies. If we had two heads or tails (represented by
HH or TT), we had a female child, as both were the same. If we had a head and a tails
(represented by HT or TH), we had a male child, as the two were different.