PIGEONETICS

LAB – PART 1 Period:

Name: Date:

This activity will challenge you to use what you’ve learned about Mendelian Traits, Punnett
Squares, and Sex-Linkage, as well as some new types of complex inheritance, to solve genetics
puzzles and become a virtual pigeon breeder!

1. Please go to: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/pigeons/ or search for “University of Utah Pigeon
Breeding” and click on “Pigeonetics.” (Be sure the volume on your computer is not muted.)

2. As you work through the puzzles, answer the questions about the genetics of each trait and make any additional
notes that you think will be helpful in solving the puzzles!

3. The game automatically saves the puzzles that you have completed. Click the “pause” symbol in the lower right
corner to see a list of the puzzles you have completed and to jump ahead to the puzzles you have remaining.

Trait Draw/Describe: Questions/Notes:

Sex Male Sex Chromosomes = _________________
Male or Female
(Puzzle 1) Female Sex Chromosomes = __________________


Crest Is the allele for having a crest dominant or recessive? How do you
know? (Hint: Look closely at the example pigeons.)
(Puzzle 3)




Slipper Look closely at the birds in your population. How many different
Phenotypes (appearances) are there for slipper feet?
(Puzzle 6)

Sketch an example of what EACH phenotype looks like:






Underneath each sketch, please write the genotype (alleles) needed to
produce that phenotype.


Grouse Is the allele for grouse dominant or recessive? How do you know?

(Puzzle 8)

Birds who have both the grouse and slipper trait are called

______________________________________.


Wing List the 4 different possible wing patterns for pigeons:
Pattern
1. ___________________________________________
(Puzzle 9)
2. ___________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________

4. __________________________________________

If a pigeon has one allele for the bar pattern and another for check, what

phenotype will it have? ____________________________________

(Hint: Look carefully at the pigeons in your population.)

If a pigeon has one allele for the barless pattern and another for t-check,

what phenotype will it have? ________________________________

Rank the four alleles for wing pattern in order from most dominant (#1)
to least dominant (#4). (Hint: You may wish to click on the “explain” button
for more information.)

List the possible colors for pigeons.
Feather
Color 1. _____________________________

(Puzzle 13) 2. _____________________________

3. _____________________________


Rank the three alleles for color in order from most dominant (#1) to
least dominant (#3).

Notice that the inheritance of feather color was different in male and
female birds. Please propose an explanation for why this might be.




Puzzles 17-26 are required for the Honors Extension. They are optional for others.

Spread Is the allele for spread dominant or recessive?


(Puzzle 17)
How might the alleles for spread interact with the alleles for wing
pattern?






Recessive How is recessive red different than the feather color trait we’ve already
Red seen?



(Puzzle 19)

How many alleles are possible for this gene?



How many recessive red alleles are necessary to produce a recessive red
phenotype?





Is recessive red sex-linked? How can you tell?







Dilute How many different possible alleles are there for this trait?

(Puzzle 23)

Is dilute dominant or recessive?



What chromosome is the dilute gene carried on?



Is dilute a Mendelian trait? Why or why not?




How do the dilute and recessive red alleles interact? (Hint: Look carefully
at your offspring pigeon.)








ANALYSIS:

Review Mendelian Traits:

Recall that a “Mendelian” trait is controlled by exactly 1 gene with 2 possible alleles, one of which is
dominant and the other is recessive. Because of this, Mendelian traits follow the most simple pattern of
inheritance.

1. Which pigeon trait(s) are “Mendelian” traits?



2. For each of the non-Mendelian traits, please explain why it is not Mendelian.








Review Sex Linkage:

Any trait, regardless of whether or not it is Mendelian, can also be “sex-linked” if it is carried on one of the
sex chromosomes.

3. How does this affect the inheritance (possible breeding outcomes) of this trait?





4. Which pigeon trait(s) are sex-linked? How do you know?




5. How do pigeon sex-chromosomes differ from human sex-chromosomes?




6. If a male pigeon has one allele for blue color, is it possible that he will be red? If a female pigeon has
one allele for blue color, is it possible that she will be red? Please explain.








Incomplete Dominance:

There are other, more complex, patterns of inheritance as well. For example, in incomplete dominance,
each allele contributes to the phenotype. As a result, there are 3 possible phenotypes, instead of only the 2
(a dominant and a recessive) that we see in a Mendelian trait.

7. Which pigeon trait showed incomplete dominance?


8. Please draw the three phenotypes for this trait & describe the genotype necessary for each of them.









Multiple Alleles:

Inheritance also becomes more complex when there are multiple (more than 2) possible alleles for a gene.

9. Which pigeon traits had multiple alleles?



10. How is the phenotype of a trait with multiple alleles different from a Mendelian trait?




11. What is the difference between multiple alleles and multiple genes?







Epistasis (Honors Extension):

We would say that gene for spread is “epistatic” over the gene for wing pattern.

12. In your own words, please describe what you think “epistasic” means.




13. Identify two other examples of epistasis in pigeon genetics.



Polygenic Traits (Honors Extension):

A trait that is impacted by more than one gene is known as a “polygenic” trait.

14. Describe one pigeon trait that is polygenic.





15. What is the difference between a polygenic trait and a trait with multiple alleles?






16. Identify one human trait that is likely to be polygenic. How do you know?







SUMMARY:

1. Describe the phenotype of a pigeon with the following genotype:
• Has two Z chromosomes
• Has one allele for crest and one allele for no crest
• Has one allele for slipper another for no slipper
• Has two alleles for no grouse
• Has one allele for bar and another allele for check
• Has one allele for brown and other allele for blue











2. Honors Extension: How would the pigeon described above be different with the addition two recessive
red alleles?






Check for Understanding:
1. Which of the following traits are Mendelian? (Select all that apply.)
a. Slipper
b. Crest
c. Grouse
d. Wing Pattern
e. Feather Color

2. Flower color is incompletely dominant in Japanese Four-o-clock flowers. When a purebred red
flower is bred with a purebred white flower, what phenotype(s) would you expect in the offspring? In
what fractions/percentages?

______________________________________________________________________

The trait of feather color is best described as
a. sex linked
b. multiple alleles

3. Is blue feather color dominant or recessive? Explain why that is a difficult question to answer.

4. One of the traits we breed pigeons for is called “grouse” or feathers on the legs. Based on this
pigeon, is the grouse allele dominant or recessive?
5.
Epistasis is a relationship between genes in which the expression of one gene hides (or masks) another.
Which two genes have an epistatic relationship in pigeons?

- Spread is epistatic over wing pattern
- Recessive red is epistatic over color, pattern & spread
- Dilute is epistatic over all alleles that control color and pattern (including recessive red)

A male pigeon with ___ breeds with a female pigeon with ___. The offspring are ____. Based on this cross,
and you notes from pigeon breeding, you can conclude that…The gene for feather color is carried on which
chromosome?
Carried on the Z chromosome


Describe the pigeon that would be produced from the following genotype:

What genotype (alleles) would be necessary to create a pigeon with: