Question

How are alleles passed for guinea pig fur color and length?

One allele for fur color and one allele for fur length is passed to the offspring from each parent.

One allele for fur color is passed together with an allele for fur length from parents to offspring.

The offspring receive the alleles for fur color and length from one parent.

Answer 1

The first statement is correct.

Each parent contributes one allele for fur color and one allele for fur length (so the offspring ends up with two alleles for color and two for length). During meiosis each parent’s gamete carries one allele for each gene. If the color and length genes are on different chromosomes they assort independently; if they are tightly linked on the same chromosome they can be inherited together more often. The third statement is wrong because offspring get alleles for each trait from both parents.