TAS2R38 Gene
he TAS2R38 gene, encodes a protein that allows people to taste the bitter chemical PTC. To begin the experiment, each student tasted two separate pieces of paper to show their individual phenotypes. The first paper was a control, and the second paper was PTC paper. If the individual tasted a bitterness while tasting the PTC paper, they were classified as a taster, and if nothing was tasted they were classified as a non-taster (Leicht 165). Once these expected phenotypes were noted, it was time to test everyone’s genotype. This was done using gel electrophoresis.
Based on the observed phenotypes, it was expected that 2 out of three group members were non-tasters and one would be a taster. If this were the case, one of the bands would be higher up than the others. However, based upon the gel electrophoresis, no one in our group had the taster genotype. One of our members didn’t show up on the gel for comparison.
The genotypes for Tim and myself were tt. Neither of us showed the taster genotype, although my phenotype was that of a taster. The third member of our group …show more content…
Five conditions must be met for the population to have a non-evolving gene pool: no mutation, random mating, infinite population size, no gene flow, and no selection (177-178). Within the student body, not all the conditions are met. The class is not an infinite population size, mating is not random, and there is gene flow. Despite all of this, we still use the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium as a base for the expected genotypes for the TAS2R38 gene. For the TAS2R38, there was a x2 value of .6325 and with one degree of freedom had a P-value well off the high end of the charts. Because of this, the classes observed genotypes were within the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium range, so the null hypothesis is not