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GENSCOPE ACTIVITY: DRAGON GENES
Submitted by Mary Jane Flaherty & Sandy Mickson, N. Middlesex H.S., Townsend, MA

(File: a male and female dragon with the following characteristics: Nora Hh, Ww ll, F- AB- and Nick Hh, Ww Ll, fF abAB).

List the phenotypic traits that Nora and Nick have in common as well as those traits that are different.

Next, make two large one inch crosses on your paper. Top left of each cross is to be number 1, top right 2, lower right 3, and lower left 4. These numbers represent Nora’s gametes and the second cross Nick’s gametes. Make 4 babies in the following manner: Nora’s gamete #1 with Nick’s #1, Nora’s #2 with Nick’s #2, and #3 and #3, and #4 and #4.

  1. Go back and look at all four baby dragon’s characteristics and compare them with their parents. Compare and contrast these characteristics.
  2. Does either parent carry a lethal gene? How do you know?
  3. How many different wing types did you observe? Explain. Explain which characteristic is dominant and which is recessive and why.
  4. Do you have enough data to support your reasoning? Why or why not? Continue crossing Nick and Nora’s gametes as follows: Nora’s #1 and Nick’s #3, and Nora’s #2 and Nick’s #4.
  5. Have you changed your mind about which genes are dominant and which is recessive? Why or why not?
  6. Does sex-linkage play any role in this dragon family? Explain. Do you have any new ideas about dominance and recessiveness or sex-linkage?

ON YOUR OWN: Create an additional 18 babies from Nick and Nora.

SUMMARIZE: What this new data does to your ideas about dragon genes.

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