Dragon Genetics Lab
In the Dragon Genetics Lab, we studied the patterns of inheritance of genes in dragons, which had two pairs of homologous chromosomes in each cell. In this lab we see that the patterns of inheritance are determined by the behavior of chromosomes during meiosis and fertilization, which is why this activity is an example of Learning Goal #1: Modes of Inheritance. Learning Goal #1 emphasizes the understanding of how both meiosis and DNA replication can provide opportunities for mutations. I did this lab without a partner, so I flipped all of the sticks.  After I completed the Mom and Dad Genotype columns for every stick, I had to determine which gene was dominant and what trait would come out of it. The genes with capitalized letters are dominant over the recessive, lowercase genes. Some traits, however, are codominant or incompletely dominant, therefore that rule doesn’t apply. My dragon’s codominant traits were pointed eyes at each end and orange spots. These traits are expressed separately in codominance. On the other hand, there are incomplete dominant traits, which are a mix of two traits. My dragon’s incomplete dominant trait is his purple body. Dropping the sticks on the table symbolizes the random uniting of allele pairs at fertilization. It also symbolizes the separation of allele pairs independently during the formation of gametes. Above is a picture of my final dragon and it’s unique traits and mutations.