Eye and body color in fruit flies are close together on the same chromosome.
What can be said about studying these traits?
The traits would not obey the law of independent assortment because they are always inherited separately.
The traits would not obey the law of segregation because they are always inherited separately.
The traits would obey the law of segregation because they are not inherited separately.
The traits would not obey the law of independent assortment because they are not inherited separately.
The correct option is: The traits would obey the law of segregation because they are not inherited separately.
When two traits are close together on the same chromosome, they tend to be inherited together more frequently than not. This phenomenon is known as genetic linkage or linkage inheritance. It occurs because genes that are physically close to each other on a chromosome are less likely to undergo crossing over during meiosis, the process of gamete formation.
According to the law of segregation, each gamete carries only one allele for each trait. In the case of traits that are close together on the same chromosome, this law still applies because the entire chromosome that carries both traits is being inherited as a unit. So, during gamete formation, the gene for eye color and the gene for body color will be inherited together, not separately.
On the other hand, the law of independent assortment states that alleles for different traits segregate independently of each other during gamete formation if they are located on different chromosomes or are far apart on the same chromosome. Since eye color and body color are close together on the same chromosome in fruit flies, they would not obey the law of independent assortment.