Answer to Question #189305 in Genetics for Jon jay Mendoza

Question

5. A rooster with grey feathers is mated with a hen of the same phenotype. Among their offspring 15 chicks are grey, 6 are black and 8 are white.

a. What is the simplest explanation for the inheritance of these colors in chickens? (3 points)

b. What offspring would you expect from the mating of a grey rooster and a black hen? (4 points punnett square; 6 points GR and PR)

Answer 1

The black and white alleles are incomplete dominance, with heterozygotes being gray in color.

A cross between a gray rooster and a black hen should yield approximately equal numbers of gray and black offspring.