A scientist is studying traits in corn. The picture shows the traits she is studying.

Question

The scientists does a dihybrid cross of two corn plants. One corn plant is homozygous for yellow kernels and heterozygous for smooth kernels. The other corn plant is heterozygous for purple kernels and homozygous for smooth kernels. Which best describes the possible offspring of this cross?

a
There is a 50% chance of having purple, smooth kernels and a 50% chance of having yellow, smooth kernels.
b
There is a 50% chance of having purple, wrinkled kernels and a 50% chance of having yellow, shrunken kernels.
c
There is a 100% chance of having purple, smooth kernels.
d
There is a 100% chance of having yellow, shrunken kernels.

Answer 1

a) There is a 50% chance of having purple, smooth kernels and a 50% chance of having yellow, smooth kernels.

This is because during a dihybrid cross, the traits for kernel color and kernel texture (smooth or wrinkled) assort independently. Therefore, the offspring can inherit any combination of these traits, resulting in a 50% chance of having purple, smooth kernels and a 50% chance of having yellow, smooth kernels. The other options (b, c, and d) are not supported by the information given in the question.