Fruit Fly Lab

1. Introduction:
a. Observation
i. In this lab, we will observe how traits are inherited and whether
they are sex-linked or autosomal.

b. Question:
i. Is the trait following a monohybrid or a dihybrid pattern of
inheritance and is it sex-linked or autosomal?

c. Hypothesis:
i. If a mutation is to occur, then a male is more likely to inherit that
mutation than a female.

2. Materials and Method:
a. Material:
i. Glass Vial
ii. Tape (to label generation of fruit flies)
iii. Ice or CO2 (for anesthetization)
iv. Tray (large enough to completely encompass the vial.)
v. Magnifying Glass

b. Procedure:
i. Make note of the characteristics of the P Generation Fruit Flies.
ii. First Day: Place the first set of adult fruit flies (Parental
Generation) in a controlled environment.
iii. Week 1: Remove adults from vial before new flies (

) emerge.
Use ice/CO as an anaesthetic and make note of the P generation
mutations. After that separate the males from the females. Then
proceed to incubate

Generation eggs.
iv. Week 2: Anesthetize and examine the

Generation fruit flies.

Make note of the mutations. After that, separate the

males from
the

females. Then Proceed to pair

adults (male to female) in a

fresh vial.
v. Week 3: Remove

adults before the new

eggs break open. Then

Incube the

eggs.
vi. Week 4: Anesthetize and examine the

adults and make note of

any mutations. Then separate the

males from the females.

c. Statistical Methods:
i. We anesthetized the fruit flies of each generations and then we
closely examined them with a magnifying glass to search for
genetic mutations.

3. Results:
a. Dependent Variable:
i. The inherited phenotype of each generation of fruit flies.

b. Independent Variable
i. The amount of generations of fruit flies present in each vial at one
time.
ii. The pairing of female and male fruit flies.

c. Confounding Variable:
i. The process of anaesthesia.
1. We didnt want any side effects that would occur if we
performed different types of anaesthesia on each fly.

d. Replication/Sample Size:
i. A replication of this experiment would include three generations of
fruit fly; ,

, and

.

e. Control Variable:
i. The environment that these flies will be in.
1. We chose to keep this as a control because we do not want
environmental factors to contribute to environmental
mutagens.

ii. The species of fly that is inside the vial.
1. We chose to keep this a control because we dont want
cross-breeding mutations.

iii. The resources the flies would be given to help the maintain
homeostasis.
1. We didnt want a specific set of flies to grow more, so we
feed them the same.


f. Data: Organized Data
i.

Results


Gender

Observed Phenotypes and
Numbers

Red Eyes

Males 12
Females 8
ii.

Results


Gender

Observed Phenotypes
and Numbers for:


Red Eyes

Observed Phenotypes
and Numbers for:


White Eyes

Males 12 8
Females 21 N/A

g. Data Analysis:
i. Based on the the chart above, the genetic inheritance of white eyes
is sex linked. Meaning, the pattern of inheritance is not the same
for males and females, as in, there are no females with white eyes.
ii. Based on this data, the genotype of the Parental Generation would
have to be

w
by
W
. With the father carrying the white eyes.

4. Conclusion
a. Our hypothesis was correct, females did not show any signs of the
inherited white eye mutations. However, males did, and at a significant
amount to suggest that the mutation is sex linked.

Citations