Download The Vegetable People are an isolated population that live on the

GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
The Vegetable People are an isolated population that live on the island of Vegatablia.
There are two sexes; females are potatoes and males are onions
Four other characteristics that can differ between individuals see below.
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Eye colour
Green olive eyes
Black olive eyes
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Arm length
Long shallot arms
Short shallot arms
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Feet type
Carrot slice feet
Parsnip slice feet
Hair colour
Green
Red
Yellow
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Below is a list of all the possible phenotypes and their corresponding genotype(s) for each trait.
Trait
Phenotype
Female potato body
Male onion body
Genotype(s)
XX
XY
EYE COLOUR
Black olive
Green olive
BB or Bb
Bb
B
b
ARM LENGTH
Long shallots
Short shallots
LL or Ll
Ll
L
l
FEET TYPE
Carrot slices
Parsnip slices
CC or Cc
cc
C
c
HAIR COLOUR
Green capsicum
Red capsicum
Yellow capsicum
GG
RR
GR
G
R
G and R
GENDER
Responsible allele
X
Y
Based on the information in the above table, list which characteristics are dominant and which are
recessive?
Dominant trait
Recessive trait
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Is each trait based on simple dominant/recessive inheritance? Explain.
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GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Working in pairs, you will be required to determine the possible outcomes of a cross between Ma
vegetable and Pa onion. The offspring of Vegetable people are known as Vegemites.
Examine the characteristics of Ma potato and Pa onion.
MA POTATO
PA ONION
List the phenotype for each trait in the space below.
MA POTATO
PA ONION
GENDER
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EYE COLOUR
_________________
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ARM LENGTH
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FEET TYPE
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HAIR COLOUR
_________________
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GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Determine the genotypes for Ma and Pa for each of the characteristics they display. You will need to
refer to the first table on the front page.
If there is more than one possible genotype, then use the following clues to determine the actual
genotype.
Clue 1
Clue 2
Clue 3
Pa is heterozygous for eye colour.
Both Ma and Pa are homozygous for arm length.
Both Ma and Pa are heterozygous for feet type.
Complete the table below, showing the genotypes of Ma and Pa.
MA POTATO
SEX CHROMOSOMES
EYE COLOUR GENE
ARM LENGTH GENE
FEET TYPE GENE
HAIR COLOUR GENE
Predictions
What are the potential outcomes for a cross between Ma potato and pa onion?
PA ONION
GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Use Punnet squares to predict the genotypic and phenotypic ratios of the Vegemites for each of the traits.
1. Will Vegemites be male or female?
2. Will Vegemites have carrot or parsnip feet?
3. Will Vegemites have green, red or yellow hair?
4. Will Vegemites have green or black olive eyes?
5. Will Vegemites have long or short shallot arms?
GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Experiment
The alleles for each trait that Ma and Pa possess have been placed in containers in front of them. In
sexually reproducing organisms, new individuals arise as a result of egg (female sex cell) and sperm
(male sex cell) combining in a process called fertilisation. The egg and sperm only contain ONE allele
for each trait. Which allele is present is a totally random process, in other words there is an equal
likelihood that either allele is passed on, whether it is the same type or different.
In your pairs,
 One person collects the alleles contributed by the mother, present in the egg, by randomly taking
one allele from each container
 The other person collects the alleles contributed by the father, present in the sperm, by randomly
taking one allele from each container
The sex cells (egg and sperm) are also known as gametes. When the gametes fuse together they form a
single new cell called a zygote that contains genetic material from the mother and father. The zygote
(new individual) now has two alleles for each trait and is said to be diploid like the parents because it
contains two sets of chromosomes.
Based on the alleles received from each parent, write the genotype for each trait that the Vegemite will
have and then determine the phenotype that will be shown.
ALLELES
From From
Ma
Pa
GENOTYPE
PHENOTYPE
GENDER
EYE COLOUR
ARM LENGTH
FEET TYPE
HAIR COLOUR
Using the information in the above table, create your Vegemite baby using the appropriate materials.
Give your Vegemite a name and record all its genotypes below.
Name: ______________________
Draw your Vegemite in the space below.
Genotypes: ________________________________
GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Describe your Vegemite’s phenotype using appropriate terminology, such as pure-breed/homozygous,
dominant, recessive, and heterozygous.
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Once you have finished creating your Vegemite, add your phenotypes to the class data.
While waiting for all the class data to be recorded, walk around and have a look at some of the other
siblings of your Vegemite.
Take notes about the following:
 How do Vegemites differ from each other?
 Are there any phenotypes that are the same? Does the same phenotype mean the same genotype?
Discuss with the other group to find out about the genotypes.
 Are there any two Vegemites that have exactly the same traits?
 Even if Vegemites have the same phenotype, do they actually look exactly the same for that
trait?
TRAIT
GENDER
VARIATIONS
Male
Female
EYE COLOUR
Black
Green
ARM LENGTH
Long
Short
FEET TYPE
Carrot
Parsnip
Green
HAIR COLOUR
Yellow
Red
PREDICTED
FREQUENCY
(from Punnet square)
ACTUAL
FREQUENCY
(from class results)
GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Predicted frequencies
Observed frequencies
Compare the predicted and actual phenotypic frequencies by constructing a histogram that shows each
trait and its variations.
GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Discussion
Question 1
a. How do the expected (predicted) phenotypic ratios compare to the observed ratios obtained by
the class? Describe for each trait (i.e. were they higher or lower than expected?).
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b. Why do you think the class results differ from the predicted results? Or, why are they similar?
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Question 2
Refer to individuals with the same traits.
a. Even though they have the same phenotype, do they look exactly the same in every way?
Explain.
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GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
b. Other than the combination of alleles, what else can affect the phenotype that an individual
displays?
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c. Do phenotypically identical siblings have the same genotype? Do they need to have the same
genotype? Why or why not? Does this apply to all traits? Explain.
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Question 3
The number of chromosomes present in individuals varies between different organisms. Humans are
made up 46 chromosomes (23 pairs), 2 sex chromosomes and 44 autosomes. Gametes (sex cells) only
contain half the number (in humans it is 23). Complete the diagram below for the Vegetable people,
assuming each trait represents a particular chromosome.
Pa onion
Ma potato
sperm
egg
zygote
In the Vegetable people, the gametes are haploid and have _____________ chromosomes, whereas
individuals are diploid and have ____________ chromosomes.
GENETICS
THE VEGETABLE PEOPLE
NAME:
Question 4
a. How many possible phenotypes could Vegemites have for hair colour? How many phenotypes
were actually shown? Which ones?
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b. Why do we see hair colour in the Vegemites that is not seen in either of the parents?
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c. In a cross between a Vegetable person with red hair and a Vegetable person with green hair, what
colour hair would the offspring Vegemites have? Show working below.
d. Explain why we obtain the above results.
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