Short Horns Dominance in Cattle
What is the allele for short horns dominant over in cattle?
The allele for short horns (S) is dominant over the allele for long horns (s) in cattle.
How many offspring were produced by two short-horn cows?
Four offspring were produced by two short-horn cows.
What is the genotype combination of the offspring?
Three offspring have short horns and one has long horns.
Answer:
The most likely combination of genotypes in the offspring is 3 SS and 1 ss.
In cattle, the allele for short horns (S) is dominant over the allele for long horns (s). This means that an individual with the genotype SS will have short horns, while an individual with the genotype ss will have long horns.
When two short-horn cows are bred, all of their offspring will inherit the dominant allele for short horns from both parents. Therefore, the most likely combination of genotypes in the offspring is 3 SS and 1 ss.
This is a classic example of Mendelian genetics, where the dominant allele masks the expression of the recessive allele. Understanding allele dominance is essential in predicting the possible genotypes and phenotypes of offspring in genetic crosses.