Signature Assignment 5: Genetics

Genetic Crosses
During this assignment you will imagine that you are a cat breeder who desires to breed cats to
produce offspring with specific coat colors. We will think about several genes in cats that help
determine coat color.

Scenario 1: The first gene we will investigate is the gene that determines “tabby” versus
“solid black” coats. This gene is called gene A in which the dominant allele (A) causes an
agouti coat (see picture below) and the recessive allele (a) causes a solid black coat.

Suppose you cross two black tabby cats: the female is homozygous for the A allele of the agouti
gene and the male is heterozygous in genotype for this gene.
a. Step 1: Draw a Punnett Square to represent this cross.

-AA represents the agouti phenotype,as it involves the dominant A allele

-Aa also represents the agouti phenotype,as there is a presence of the dominant
A allele
 b. Step 2: What proportion of the kittens from this cross are predicted to have a
solid coat?
The proportion of kittens with solid coat (aa) would be 0 %.All kittens will have
the agouti coat.The ratio of the phenotypes would be 50 % AA and 50 % Aa based
on the Punnett Square

Scenario 2: The second gene we will investigate is the orange gene (Gene O) which is
located on the X chromosome. Orange coloration is therefore a X-linked trait. The
dominant (O) allele specifies orange fur since it blocks the production of eumelanin
(black); therefore, only pheomelanin (orange) is produced. The recessive allele (o)
allows both yellow and black pigment production. Female cats, possessing two X
chromosomes, can be orange (genotype O/O), black (genotype o/o), or a mottled mix
of orange and black called Tortoiseshell (genotype O/o). The Tortoiseshell phenotype
is due to a process called “random X-chromosome inactivation” that occurs in
mammalian females during embryonic development, whereby only one X
chromosome is functionally active while the other is condensed and inactive. Male
cats, with only one X chromosome cannot normally be tortoiseshell; rare XXY males
(extra X chromosome) can be Tortoiseshell. The dominant O allele of Orange will
block the effects of the A allele of gene A (1st scenario) and will thus block Tabby fur.

2. You cross a male, orange cat with a female, tortoiseshell cat.

a. Draw a Punnett Square to represent this cross.

XOXO XOY XoXo XoY XOXo

1. Draw a Punnett square that represents a cross between a male, orange cat and a female,
tortoiseshell cat. Use the genotypes that include the X and Y chromosome as you set up the
Punnett square. Note that the Y chromosome does not carry a copy of gene O.
 a. What genotypes are possible among the kittens?
-X^OX^O: Female homozygous for the orange allele
-X^OY: Male with the orange allele
-X^OX^o: Female heterozygous,tortoiseshell due to random X-chromosome
inactivation
-X^oY: Male with non-orange allele(black)
b. Indicate the expected phenotype associated with each genotype.
-X^OX^O: Orange female
-X^OY: Orange male
-X^OX^o: Tortoiseshell female
X^oY: Black male
c. What proportion of the kittens are expected to be orange?
50% (X^OX^O and X^OY) - This includes both males and females.
d. What proportion of the kittens are expected to be tortoiseshell?
25% (X^OX^o), all of which are female.
e.What proportion of the kittens are expected to be black?
25% (X^oY), all of which are male.
f.What proportion of the female kittens are expected to be tortoiseshell?
Considering only the female offspring, we have two genotypes: X^OX^O and
X^OX^o. The proportion of female kittens that are expected to be tortoiseshell (X^OX^o) is
50%.

2. Suppose you cross a male cat of genotype a/a, XO/Y to a female cat of genotype A/a, Xo/Xo.
Note that you are keeping track of two different genes with this cross.
a. What are the expected coat colors/patterns for the two parent cats?
- Male Parent (a/a, x°/Y): This male cat lacks the dominant A allele for the A gene,
meaning he does not have the tabby pattern. Also, since he has a recessive o
allele on his X chromosome (denoted as x°), he cannot express the orange color
that blocks eumelanin production. Therefore, his coat is not orange, but since
there's no further information on the color linked with the recessive allele (o) in
male cats, we might assume he expresses a non-orange, likely black or similar
dark color, due to the production of both eumelanin and pheomelanin as
suggested by the gene's effect. As a male, his phenotype reflects the single X
chromosome's gene.
 - Female Parent (A/a, X°/X°): This female cat has one dominant A allele for tabby
patterning and is homozygous dominant for the orange gene (O/O). Therefore,
she expresses the tabby pattern with an orange coat color.
b. Draw a Punnett Square showing the possible genotypes of their kittens.
Punnett Square for Gene A (Tabby gene)

Orange Gene X-linked Punnett Square

c. Label each genotype with the phenotype (sex, coat color and pattern).
-X°x° (Female): Due to a dominant allele for orange and a non-orange allele, a
tortoiseshell cat displays a combination of colors resulting from the random
inactivation of the X-chromosome.
 -X°Y (Male): The male expresses the orange phenotype because it has the
dominant orange allele on the X chromosome, making it an orange cat.
-x°Y (Male): The color is probably not orange, but rather black or a similar
shade, because the scenario relies on the given alleles and the known impacts of the o allele.
d. Determine the probability of each possible phenotype among the kittens.
- 50% Tortoiseshell Female: Given every female is X°x°.
- 50% Orange Male: All males inherit the X° from their mother and Y from their
father, therefore displaying the orange phenotype.