Which of the following explains what would happen to the proportion of white flowers in a population resulting from this mutation?
There would be an increase in the proportion of white flowers because the f allele is distributed to more gametes.
There would be a decrease in the proportion of white flowers because the f allele is not distributed to as many gametes.
There would be an increase in the proportion of white flowers because the f allele would not be masked by the dominant trait.
There would be a decrease in the proportion of white flowers because the resulting gametes would be heterozygous for purple flowers.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is: There would be an increase in the proportion of white flowers because the f allele would not be masked by the dominant trait.
Explanation:
In genetics, the color of flowers in a population can be determined by alleles for flower color. Typically, in a flower color gene system, there is a dominant allele and a recessive allele. Let’s assume that the dominant allele (F) codes for purple flowers, while the recessive allele (f) codes for white flowers. A plant with at least one F allele will display purple flowers because the F allele is dominant over the f allele.
If a mutation causes a shift in how the alleles are inherited, the f allele (which causes white flowers) may no longer be masked by the dominant F allele. This could happen if the mutation affects the gene expression, making the f allele more likely to be expressed even in the presence of the dominant allele. As a result, more plants may show white flowers, increasing the proportion of white flowers in the population.
In a typical scenario, if an individual is heterozygous (Ff), the dominant F allele would mask the expression of the recessive f allele, resulting in purple flowers. However, if this mutation affects the way alleles are passed on or expressed, it could prevent the dominant F allele from masking the f allele in heterozygous individuals. This would lead to more white-flowered plants in the next generation, as more individuals would display the recessive phenotype.
Thus, the mutation could lead to a higher frequency of the f allele in the population and an increase in the number of white flowers. The key factor here is that the recessive trait would no longer be masked by the dominant allele, allowing the white flower phenotype to be expressed more frequently.