In domestic cats, black fur color and short fur length are dominant traits. A male cat with black, long fur (Bbss) and a female cat with brown, short fur (bbSS) have kittens. What are the expected phenotypes of the kittens?
A.
50% with black, long fur and 50% with brown, long fur
B.
50% with black, short fur and 50% with brown, short fur
C.
50% with black, long fur, 25% with brown, long fur, and 25% with brown, short fur
D.
50% with black, short fur, 25% with brown, short fur, and 25% with black, long fur
To determine the expected phenotypes of the kittens, we need to consider the possible combinations of alleles that they can inherit from their parents.
The male cat has the genotype Bbss, which means it can pass on either a B (black fur) or b (brown fur) allele to its offspring. It will always pass on the s (short fur) allele.
The female cat has the genotype bbSS, which means it can only pass on a b allele for fur color. It can pass on either an S (short fur) or an s (long fur) allele.
Let's consider all the possible combinations:
1. Bbss x bbSS:
- The offspring can inherit either a B or b allele for fur color from the male cat.
- The offspring will always inherit the s allele for fur length from the male cat.
- The offspring will always inherit the b allele for fur color from the female cat.
- The offspring can inherit either an S or s allele for fur length from the female cat.
Possible genotypes:
- Bbss (black, long fur)
- BbsS (black, short fur)
- bbss (brown, long fur)
- bbsS (brown, short fur)
Based on this, we can see that the expected phenotypes of the kittens are:
50% with black, long fur
25% with black, short fur
25% with brown, long fur
Therefore, the correct answer is C. 50% with black, long fur, 25% with brown, long fur, and 25% with brown, short fur.