Question:

Outline a project which aims to find the dominant coat colour in dogs.

Updated On: Nov 7, 2023
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Solution and Explanation

Dogs have a variety of genes that govern coat colour. There are at least eleven identified gene series (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M, P, S, T) that influence coat colour in dog. 
A dog inherits one gene from each of its parents. The dominant gene gets expressed in the phenotype. For example, in the B series, a dog can be genetically black or brown. Let us assume that one parent is homozygous black (BB), while the other parent is homozygous brown (bb). 

bb  BB
 BB
bBbBb
bBbBb

In this case, all the offsprings will be heterozygous (Bb).  Since black (B) is dominant, all the offsprings will be black. However, they will have both B and b alleles. 
If such heterozygous pups are crossed, they will produce 25% homozygous black (BB), 50% heterozygous black (Bb), and 25% homozygous brown (bb) offsprings.

 Bb
BBBBb
bBbBb
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Concepts Used:

Principles of Inheritance and Variation - Mutation

A Mutation is a change in the sequence of our DNA base pairs caused by numerous environmental stimuli such as UV light or mistakes during DNA replication. Germline mutations take place in the eggs and sperm and can be passed onto offspring, whereas somatic mutations take place in body cells and are not passed on.

Types of Mutations

There are three types of mutations, which are as follows:

Silent mutation

It refers to any change in DNA sequence that has no effect on the amino acid sequence in a protein or the functions that a protein performs. There is no phenotypic indication that a mutation has occurred.

Nonsense mutation

When there is a change in the sequence of base pairs due to a point mutation, that results in a stop codon. This leads to a protein that is either shortened or non-functional.

Missense mutation

A missense mutation occurs when a point mutation causes a change in the codon, which then codes for another amino acid.

The mutation is caused by the following factors:

Internal Causes

When DNA copies incorrectly, the majority of mutations occur. Evolution occurs as a result of all of these mutations. DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division. When a copy of DNA isn't flawless, it's called a mutation since it differs somewhat from the original DNA.

External Causes

When certain chemicals or radiations are used to break down DNA, it causes the DNA to break down. The thymine dimers are broken by UV radiation, resulting in altered DNA.