A population of rabbits follows the typical pattern of inheritance and the law of dominance for fur color. B is the allele for black fur and b is the allele for white fur. In a population of rabbits, 120 bunnies are born. How many bunnies should be black, according to the Punnett square?

Question

Responses
A 6060
B 8585
C 9090
D 100

Answer 1

To determine how many bunnies should be black according to the Punnett square, we first need to know the genetic makeup of the parent rabbits. In typical Mendelian inheritance for a trait controlled by a single gene with two alleles, we can set up a Punnett square to predict the offspring's phenotype ratios.

Assuming the possible parental combinations are:

1. Homozygous black (BB)
2. Heterozygous (Bb)
3. Homozygous white (bb)

The possible combinations of the Punnett square will vary depending on the parent genotypes.

Here’s a quick overview of expected ratios for a few common scenarios:

• If both parents are heterozygous (Bb x Bb), the expected ratio of phenotypes would be 75% black (BB or Bb) to 25% white (bb). This means out of 120 bunnies:
  • Black bunnies = 75% of 120 = 90 bunnies
  • White bunnies = 25% of 120 = 30 bunnies

Now, let's evaluate the answer options:

• A: 6060
• B: 8585
• C: 9090
• D: 100

From our calculation, if both parents were Bb, we expect 90 black bunnies out of 120. Therefore, the closest answer is:

C: 90 bunnies.