DRAGON GENETICS Understanding Inheritance – INTRODUCTION In this activity, you and a partner will work together to produce a baby dragon. You will simulate meiosis and fertilization, the biological processes by which the parents' genes are passed on to a baby. To begin, we will review meiosis and fertilization for dragons that have only one chromosome with a single gene. This gene codes for the enzyme that makes the pigment that gives dragon skin its color. The dominant allele, codes for a normal enzyme that results in normal skin A, color. The recessive allele, a, codes for a defective enzyme that cannot make skin pigment, so an dragon is an albino with completely white skin. aa ★ Suppose that each dragon parent has the pair of homologous chromosomes shown. Father Mother _A _A _a _a Draw the chromosomes of the two types of eggs and the two types of sperm produced by meiosis. Then, draw the chromosomes of the zygotes that are produced when the different types of sperm fertilize the different types of eggs. Next, use an * to indicate any zygote or zygotes that will develop into albino baby dragons. In this activity you will work with a partner to carry out a simulation of meiosis and fertilization and produce a baby dragon. Each student will be a surrogate dragon parent who has the genes indicated on a set of three Popsicle sticks. Each side of a Popsicle stick represents one chromosome, and the two sides together represent a pair of homologous chromosomes. This table explains how the simulation mimics the biological processes of meiosis and fertilization. Biological Simulation Process The parents' Each dragon diploid cells parent drops have pairs of his or her homologous Popsicle chromosomes. sticks on the Meiosis table or separates each desk, and pair of the side of homologous each chromosomes, Popsicle
DRAGON GENETICS – Understanding Inheritance INTRODUCTION In this activity, you and a partner will work together to produce a baby dragon. You will simulate meiosis and fertilization, the biological processes by which the parents' genes are passed on to a baby. To begin, we will review meiosis and fertilization for dragons that have only one chromosome with a single gene. This gene codes for the enzyme that makes the pigment that gives dragon skin its color. The dominant allele, A, codes for a normal enzyme that results in normal skin color. The recessive allele, a, codes for a defective enzyme that cannot make skin pigment, so an aa dragon is an albino with completely white skin. ★ Suppose that each dragon parent has the pair of homologous chromosomes shown. Father Mother _A _A _a _a Draw the chromosomes of the two types of eggs and the two types of sperm produced by meiosis. Then, draw the chromosomes of the zygotes that are produced when the different types of sperm fertilize the different types of eggs. Next, use an * to indicate any zygote or zygotes that will develop into albino baby dragons. In this activity you will work with a partner to carry out a simulation of meiosis and fertilization and produce a baby dragon. Each student will be a surrogate dragon parent who has the genes indicated on a set of three Popsicle sticks. Each side of a Popsicle stick represents one chromosome, and the two sides together represent a pair of homologous chromosomes. This table explains how the simulation mimics the biological processes of meiosis and fertilization. Biological Process Simulation The parents' diploid cells have pairs of homologous chromosomes. Meiosis separates each pair of homologous chromosomes, Each dragon parent drops his or her Popsicle sticks on the table or desk, and the side of each Popsicle