Drosophila melanogaster was being tested to see how their eye color traits were being passed down through generations. Specifically, the red eyed trait, also known as the wild type, and the white-eyed trait, also known as the mutant trait. These traits can be passed as either autosomal or sex-linked traits. Sex-linked traits can be passed on the X or Y chromosome, but more commonly on the X chromosome rather than the Y chromosome. Two different crosses were performed in two separate tubes. One cross with wild type females and white-eyed males and the other cross was just a reciprocal of the phenotypes. Each cross was facilitated to produce an F1 generation and an F2 generation, and the results were there after collected. These results gave significant evidence that the trait that codes for white eyes in drosophila are passed on to offspring on the X chromosome. The results also suggested that the trait was an X-linked recessive trait. .
Introduction.
Drosophila melanogaster is also known as the common fruit fly. They are referred to as a model organism, which is an organism that is able to be studied easily and can compare its results to other organisms (Jeffrey R. Powell). Features in Drosophila melanogaster that make it a suitable model organism are the high offspring output, short maturity period, availability of different mutations, and the ease in sexing males from females (Jeffrey R. Powell). The drosophila allowed us to look at multiple generations in a matter of weeks compared to what would take months in other organisms.
Drosophila melanogaster was being tested to see how the gene that codes for red eyes or white eyes was inherited throughout generations. Genes that are being passed on to new generations can be classified as either autosomal or sex-linked. Autosomal genes are genes that are passed on one of the twenty-two autosomal chromosomes that do not have to do with the gender of the progeny.