In a group of deer mice, some individuals have a hairy body and others have a hairless body. In this group, the gene for the body hair trait has two alleles. The allele for a hairless body (b) is recessive to the allele for a hairy body (B).

Question

In a group of deer mice, some individuals have a hairy body and others have a hairless body. In this group, the gene for the body hair trait has two alleles. The allele for a hairless body (b) is recessive to the allele for a hairy body (B).

The Punnett square below shows a cross between two deer mice. Consider the phenotypes of the offspring shown. Select one box that represents offspring with a hairy body.

Answer 1

The Punnett square below does not indicate any specific alleles or genotypes of the parent mice, so we cannot accurately determine which box represents offspring with a hairy body. However, if we assume that both parent mice are heterozygous (Bb) for the body hair trait, then the offspring with a hairy body would be the boxes labeled Bb.

Punnett square:
B | b
--------------
B| BB | Bb
b| Bb | bb

Since the allele for a hairy body (B) is dominant over the allele for a hairless body (b), a mouse with at least one B allele will have a hairy body. Thus, the boxes labeled Bb represent the offspring with a hairy body.