A mother cat is a calico, with orange, black, and white fur. She has three kittens—an orange female, a black and orange female, and a black female. Did she reproduce sexually or asexually? Choose the option that has the best evidence to support your choice.(1 point)

Answer 1

Based on the given information, it is most likely that the mother cat reproduced sexually. This is because calico coat color in cats is a result of genetic recombination, which occurs during sexual reproduction. Calico cats are almost always female and have two X chromosomes. The combination of the X chromosomes determines the unique color pattern of the calico coat. In this case, the mother cat has three kittens with different coat colors, suggesting that she reproduced sexually and passed on her combination of X chromosomes to her offspring.