Ateneo de Zamboanga University

College of Science and Information Technology

Natural Sciences Department
BFGenetics Laboratory

NAME: SAN PEDRO, KRIZIA CORRINE C.

Activity No. 5
Gene Segregation in Drosophila melanogaster
INTRODUCTION

In 1865 and 1866, Gregor Mendel introduced the principle of inheritance through an
experiment done on pea plants, manipulating the traits by cross-breeding. With this he
formulated several laws of inheritance including the law of segregation (Bateson, 2009). Gene
segregation was proven in a molecular aspect by Oscar Hertwig in 1876 and Edouard Van
Beneden in 1883. They observed the process of meiosis in which paternal and maternal
chromosomes get separated. This is further supported by the distribution of chromosomes during
spermatogenesis and oogenesis. During fertilization, these gametes (egg and sperm) unite. It
causes an individual to possess two alleles for each trait inherited from the mother and father
(Bailey, 2015). In this activity, gene segregation will be explored by examining the resulting
progeny of the crossed mutant and wild-type Drosophila melanogaster.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1.) Examine the morphological phenotypes of wild and mutant Drosophila melanogaster.
2.) Illustrate the crosses (Wild x Mutant, F1 x F1) with the use of Punnett squares
3.) Discuss the mode of inheritance and gene segregation of the mutant characteristic.

MATERIALS and METHODS

- Culture Jars
- Mobile phone

A cross was made between five wild female fruit flies and five mutant males in a fresh
culture container. As soon as pupae appeared upon conducting the cross, the parental generation
was removed. After eclosion, the number of males and females (from day one to five) were
noted from the progeny and are referred to as the F1 generation. The F1 generation’s
morphological phenotypes were examined. Another cross was made out of the F1 generation in
another culture jar. The parental generation (this time, F1) was removed from the culture jar and
the same procedure was done.

DATA and OBSERVATION

Table 1. Population upon cross-breeding

GENERATION MALE FEMALE

Parental 5 (Mutant – Pale colored) 5 (Wild Type)

F1 17 40

F2 25 38

Upon conducting the first cross between the parental generation, there were a total of 17
males and 40 females in the F1 generation noted. The cross between the samples from the F1
generation resulted in 25 males and 38 females in the F2 progeny.

Cross 1. Parental Cross Between Mutant Male (XP) x Wild-Type Female (XX)

PARENTAL X X

XP XPX XPX

Y XY XY

The Punnett square above depicts the possible genotypic make-up of the F1 generation. In
this cross, male fruit flies carry the allele for pale coloration (X P). The female fruit flies carry the
wild-type phenotype, manifesting a yellow body coloration. The cross expected a resulting F1
progeny with all possible born females being carriers of the pale coloration allele (X PX). The
males however would remain normal (XY) in the F1 generation.

Cross 2. F1 Generation Between Normal Male (XY) x Carrier Female (XPX)

 F1 XP X

X XP X XX

Y XPY XY

This cross illustrated the cross between a normal male (XY) and a carrier female (X PX)
obtained from the F1 progeny. The cross will expect ½ of the female offspring to be carrier of
the pale color phenotype whereas ½ would be normal. On the other hand, ½ of the male
offspring will be pale colored and ½ will retain the wild phenotype. 50% of the progeny will
carry the pale coloration allele (XP) while 50% will carry a normal (Wild-type) phenotype.

DISCUSSION

Mutant, Pale colored fruit flies

Mutants hail from artificial cultures which breed true for one or more particular mutant
phenotype. Pale coloration is one of the notable characteristics of mutant flies. This occurrence
may be due to the mutation of a single gene or several different genes. Wild-type flies are seen
to be slightly darker in color with the visible dorsal features such as the concentrated black
coloration in males and the black stripes of the females. Pale coloration is frequently observed in
those that were raised in captivity with controlled environmental condition as well as nutrition.
This phenotype is said to be recessive and is sex linked to the X chromosome (University of
Leicester, n. d.).

Sex-Linked Inheritance and Trait Segregation

Mutant flies in this study were observed to have paler body coloration relative to the wild-
type darker yellow fruit flies. These flies carry the pale coloration allele (X P) which is linked to
the X chromosome (University of Leicester, n.d.). Honors Organismal Biology Laboratory (n.d.)
also pointed out the pale coloration (yellow body) as a recessive trait. With this in mind, the trait
could be implied as a sex-linked recessive trait. This explains the phenomenon in which males
are most likely being affected by the expression of the mutant phenotypes. In this case, the X
chromosome in the male individual carries the allele for the trait exhibiting full expression
whereas a female individual, who has two X chromosomes, remain a carrier because the
recessive trait is masked by the other unaffected X chromosome if the individual inherits the
allele. A possible representation of this allele segregation is illustrated in the cross below.

XP X

X XP X (Carrier Female) XX

Y XPY (Affected Male) XY

CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS

The mutation in the Drosophila melanogaster culture exhibited a sex-linked inheritance

most likely associated with the X chromosomes. Observations revealed more males affected by
the mutant pale coloration whereas females remain carriers for the trait due to the trait being
recessive and is masked by the other X chromosome. Some individuals also retain the wild
phenotype. This also manifests a proof of gene segregation where the individual receives a trait
from both paternal and maternal lineages. The study focused on one mutant trait, with this it is
recommended to include other traits that are not sex-linked for thorough examination of gene
segregation.

REFERENCES

Bailey, R. (2015), Mendel’s Law of Segregation, About.com.

Bateson, W. (2009), Mendel’s Principles of Heredity – A Defence, with a Translation of

Mendel’s Original Papers on Hybridisation, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-
108-00613-2.

Honors Organismal Biology Laboratory (n.d.), Mendelian Genetics: Lessons from the Fruit Fly,
Michigan State University, from https://msu.edu/course/lbs/158h/manual/genetics.pdf.

University of Leicester (n.d.), The Fly Manual: A guide to working with Drosophila, Tauber Lab
Manual.