Corn Genetics Lab 🔙 to TOC

Name: Sophia Nguyen Date: March 25,2024

BACKGROUND: The color and texture of corn kernels
(corn embryos) are inherited characteristics that are
easily observed. Purple color (P) and smooth texture
(S) are dominant traits, whereas yellow color (p) and
wrinkled texture (s) are recessive traits.

In this exercise, you will examine an ear of corn and

determine the type of cross and genes responsible
for the coloration and texture of the corn kernels like
the one show below. There are four grain phenotypes
in the ear. Purple and smooth (A), Yellow and Smooth
(B), Yellow and Shrunken (C), Purple and Shrunken
(D). These can be observed on the right.

OBJECTIVE: Your ear of corn may be a result of a cross between plants that were both heterozygous.
In this lab, you will collect data to determine if these two genes are inherited as a result of a dihybrid
or monohybrid cross. Are they inherited together or individually?

DATA COLLECTION: Use the corn image provided OR physical corn model to count the kernels.

1. Count 5 distinct rows of corn kernels.

2. Classify each kernel based on BOTH traits (color and texture).
3. Record your data in the table below.
4. Determine the kernel percentage by dividing the number of kernels by the total number of
kernels.
5. Share out class data.

Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Row 5 Total

Percentage
Phenotype Number Number Number Number Number Number
of Total
Counted Counted Counted Counted Counted Counted

Purple and
smooth
12 10 6 7 9 44 53.66

Yellow and
smooth
2 2 6 3 4 17 20.73

Purple and
wrinkled
4 3 4 3 2 16 19.51

Yellow and
wrinkled
0 0 1 3 1 5 6.1

TOTAL 18 15 17 16 16 82 100%
Corn Genetics Lab 🔙 to TOC

Name: Sophia Nguyen Date: March 25,2024

CLASS DATA COLLECTION: Record the total number of kernels for each trait for the class data.

Phenotype Total Counted Percentage of Total

Purple and smooth 793 59.49

Yellow and smooth 245 18.38

Purple and wrinkled 225 16.88

Yellow and wrinkled 70 5.25

TOTAL 1333 100%

Dihybrid Cross: Your ear of corn may be a result of a cross between plants that were both
heterozygous (PpSs x PpSs). Complete the punnett square below to determine the phenotypic ratio
from this prediction. Record what you would expect to get from this cross in the chart below.

Ps pS PS ps
Expected
Phenotype Percentage
Ratio
Ps PPss PpSs PPSs Ppss
Purple and
smooth 9 /16 56.25 %
pS PpSs ppSS PpSS ppSs
Yellow and
smooth
3 /16 18.75 %
PS PPSs PpSS PPSS PpSs Purple and
wrinkled 3 /16 18.75 %

ps Ppss ppSs PpSs ppss Yellow and

wrinkled
1 /16 6.25 %

A. How does the class data The class data was close to the expected percentages, but
percentages compare to the some were over and others were under.
percentages from the expected ratio?

B. Which is a closer match, your My data was closer to the expected percentages because I looked at one
data or the class data? Why? corn while the whole class data looked at multiple. Also, the percentages
were closer as well.
Corn Genetics Lab 🔙 to TOC

Name: Sophia Nguyen Date: March 25,2024

DATA ANALYSIS: Compare the collected data to the prediction you made with the punnett square.
Using this information, answer the following questions.

The punnet square makes sense of the data that I collected because
the expected percentages were about 56%, 18%, and 6%. Both the class
1. Does your punnett data and my own data were very close to the expected percentages.
square prediction make There is evidence to support that these corn parents wre heterozygous
sense of the data you because it nearly matches the expected ratios and the percentages
collected? Is there were very close to what was predicted from the punnet square.
evidence that supports
your claim that these
corn parents were
heterozygous? Does this
data match the expected
ratios for this cross?
How do the percentages
compare?

2. How do you know that the parents If the parents in this cross were purebread as PPSS, the
in this cross are not purebred for offspring would all have the dominant genotype, resulting in
each trait, meaning they have the all the offspring having the dominant trait, homozygous or
genotype, PPSS? heterozygous. For example, if a parent was PPSS and mated
with another, all the offspring would have the P and S allel. If
If they did have this genotype, what they have 100 offspring, all of the offspring would have the
would the offspring look like in your dominant genotype, and express the dominant phenotype,
sample? which in this case would be purple and smooth.

How would the data differ? Give an

example for a corn sample of 100
kernels.

3. Based on Mendel’s Law of If genes were inherited together, there would not be as much
Independent Assortment, the variation. For example, if being purple and smooth were
probability of inheriting the gene for inherited together, all the purple offspring would also be
coloration does not affect the smooth as well. From the sample, we can observe that that is
probability of inheriting the gene for not the cause because the purple offspring were also
texture. If these genes were wrinkled as well, proving Mendel’s Law of Independent
inherited together, what would the Assortment.
offspring look like in your sample?
How would the data differ?