Introduction
Using Drosophila, the goal of this lab was to study and identify the genetics behind certain traits through to use of dihybrid crosses. With the crosses, the purpose was to find the different dominant and recessive traits in the eyes and wings of the Drosophila. Flies were used to study the genetics as opposed to other insects or animals because they are easy to mass-produce and the traits, when viewed under a microscope, are easily identifiable. The hypothesis was that the traits of sepia eyes and apterous wings were autosomal recessive.
Procedure
The procedure and steps for the analysis of the cross was very straightforward. In the first week, the F1 vials were collected and after sexing the anesthetized F1 flies, five females …show more content…
All mistakes occurred with the F2 cross. The first was that the food solution in the F2 vial was too liquefied and as a result flies were trapped in the mixture. In addition, when trying to anesthetize the F2 generation, many flies, when the vial was inverted were trapped in the falling mixture. This skewed the results for the F2 generation as the flies in the mixture were too coated in the solution to be sexed and analyzed for phenotype. To find a solution and to act on these errors, improvements could be made to increase accuracy when creating the food mixture for the vials. Another mistake was made when a group member knocked the dish containing the male flies in the F2 generation onto the floor. The flies were not yet counted or sorted by phenotype so the number retrieved from the floor could not be certain. This could be improved upon by limiting the number of people at the microscope at a time to avoid jostling or keeping a closer eye on where the dish is sitting. In the real world this experiment could be applied to many genetic trait and their inheritance. The lab is a simple way to show the complex reasons behind how phenotypes are determined and the links between generations and how traits can skip generations. If the lab could be repeated, a main concern would be to keep the number of flies counted as high as possible to
Using Drosophila, the goal of this lab was to study and identify the genetics behind certain traits through to use of dihybrid crosses. With the crosses, the purpose was to find the different dominant and recessive traits in the eyes and wings of the Drosophila. Flies were used to study the genetics as opposed to other insects or animals because they are easy to mass-produce and the traits, when viewed under a microscope, are easily identifiable. The hypothesis was that the traits of sepia eyes and apterous wings were autosomal recessive.
Procedure
The procedure and steps for the analysis of the cross was very straightforward. In the first week, the F1 vials were collected and after sexing the anesthetized F1 flies, five females …show more content…
All mistakes occurred with the F2 cross. The first was that the food solution in the F2 vial was too liquefied and as a result flies were trapped in the mixture. In addition, when trying to anesthetize the F2 generation, many flies, when the vial was inverted were trapped in the falling mixture. This skewed the results for the F2 generation as the flies in the mixture were too coated in the solution to be sexed and analyzed for phenotype. To find a solution and to act on these errors, improvements could be made to increase accuracy when creating the food mixture for the vials. Another mistake was made when a group member knocked the dish containing the male flies in the F2 generation onto the floor. The flies were not yet counted or sorted by phenotype so the number retrieved from the floor could not be certain. This could be improved upon by limiting the number of people at the microscope at a time to avoid jostling or keeping a closer eye on where the dish is sitting. In the real world this experiment could be applied to many genetic trait and their inheritance. The lab is a simple way to show the complex reasons behind how phenotypes are determined and the links between generations and how traits can skip generations. If the lab could be repeated, a main concern would be to keep the number of flies counted as high as possible to