Campbell Biology in Focus, 2e (Urry)
Chapter 12 The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
12.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) When Thomas Hunt Morgan crossed his red-eyed F1 generation flies to each other, the F2
generation included both red- and white-eyed flies. Remarkably, all the white-eyed flies were
male. What was the explanation for this result?
A) The gene involved is on the Y chromosome.
B) The gene involved is on the X chromosome.
C) The gene involved is on an autosome, but only in males.
D) Eye color in flies is a multifactorial trait.
2) Which of the following statements describes the chromosome theory of inheritance as
expressed in the early twentieth century?
A) Individuals inherit particular chromosomes attached to genes.
B) Mendelian genes are at specific loci on the chromosome and in turn segregate during meiosis.
C) Homologous chromosomes give rise to some genes and crossover chromosomes to other
genes.
D) No more than a single pair of chromosomes can be found in a healthy normal cell.
E) Natural selection acts on certain chromosome arrays rather than on genes.
3) Males are more often affected by sex-linked traits than females because
A) male hormones such as testosterone often alter the effects of mutations on the X chromosome.
B) female hormones such as estrogen often compensate for the effects of mutations on the X
chromosome.
C) X chromosomes in males generally have more mutations than X chromosomes in females.
D) males are hemizygous for the X chromosome.
E) mutations on the Y chromosome often worsen the effects of X-linked mutations.
4) Which of the following statements best describes the SRY gene?
A) It is a gene present on the X chromosome that triggers female development.
B) It is an autosomal gene that is required for the expression of genes on the Y chromosome.
C) It is a gene region present on the Y chromosome that triggers male development.
D) It is an autosomal gene that is required for the expression of genes on the X chromosome.
5) In cats, black fur color is caused by an X-linked allele; the other allele at this locus causes
orange color. The heterozygote is tortoiseshell. What kinds of offspring would you expect from
the cross of a black female and an orange male?
A) tortoiseshell females; tortoiseshell males
B) black females; orange males
C) orange females; orange males
D) tortoiseshell females; black males
E) orange females; black males
6) Red-green color blindness is a sex-linked recessive trait in humans. Two people with normal
color vision have a color-blind son. What are the genotypes of the parents?
A) XNXn and XnY
B) XnXn and XNY
C) XNXN and XnY
D) XNXN and XNY
E) XNXn and XNY
7) Cinnabar eyes is a sex-linked recessive characteristic in fruit flies. If a female having cinnabar
eyes is crossed with a wild-type male, what percentage of the F1 males will have cinnabar eyes?
A) 0%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 75%
E) 100%
8) Normally, only female cats have the tortoiseshell phenotype because
A) the males die during embryonic development.
B) a male inherits only one allele of the X-linked gene controlling hair color.
C) the Y chromosome has a gene blocking orange coloration.
D) only males can have Barr bodies.
9) Sex determination in mammals is due to the SRY gene on the Y chromosome. An abnormality
of this region could allow which of the following to have a male phenotype?
A) Turner syndrome, 45,X
B) translocation of the SRY gene to an autosome of a 46,XX individual
C) a person with an extra X chromosome
D) a person with one normal and one shortened (deleted) X
10) In humans, clear gender differentiation occurs not at fertilization, but after the second month
of gestation. What is the first event of this differentiation?
A) formation of testosterone in male embryos
B) formation of estrogens in female embryos
C) anatomical differentiation of a penis in male embryos
D) activation of the SRY gene in male embryos and development of testes
E) activation of the SRY gene in females and development of the ovaries
11) Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a serious condition caused by a recessive allele of a gene on
the human X chromosome. The patients have muscles that weaken over time because they have
absent or decreased dystrophin, a muscle protein. They rarely live past their 20s. How likely is it
for a woman to have this condition?
A) Women can never have this condition.
B) One-half of the daughters of an affected man would have this condition.
C) One-fourth of the daughters of an affected father and a carrier mother could have this
condition.
D) Very rarely: it is rare that an affected male would mate with a carrier female.
E) Only if a woman is XXX could she have this condition.
12) What event causes all female mammals to have one active X chromosome per cell instead of
two?
A) activation of the XIST gene on the X chromosome that will become the Barr body
B) activation of the BARR gene on one X chromosome, which then becomes inactive
C) crossing over between the XIST gene on one X chromosome and a related gene on an
autosome
D) inactivation of the XIST gene on the X chromosome derived from the male parent
13) Which of the following statements correctly describes linkage?
A) The closer two genes are on a chromosome, the lower the probability that a crossover will
occur between them.
B) The observed frequency of recombination of two genes that are far apart from each other has
a maximum value of 100%.
C) All of the traits that Mendel studied–seed color, pod shape, flower color, and others–are due
to genes linked on the same chromosome.
D) Linked genes are found on different chromosomes.
14) How would one explain a testcross involving F1 dihybrid flies in which more parental-type
offspring than recombinant-type offspring are produced?
A) The two genes are closely linked on the same chromosome.
B) The two genes are linked but on different chromosomes.
C) Recombination did not occur in the cell during meiosis.
D) Both of the characters are controlled by more than one gene.
15) What does a frequency of recombination of 50% indicate?
A) The two genes are likely to be located on different chromosomes.
B) All of the offspring have combinations of traits that match one of the two parents.
C) The genes are located on sex chromosomes.
D) Independent assortment is hindered.
16) Three genes (A, B, and C) at three loci are being mapped in a particular species. Each gene
has two alleles, one of which results in a phenotype that is markedly different from the wild type.
The unusual allele of gene A is inherited with the unusual allele of gene B or C about 50% of the
time. However, the unusual alleles of genes B and C are inherited together 14.4% of the time.
Which of the following statements describes what is happening regarding the inheritance of these
genes?
A) The three genes are showing independent assortment.
B) The three genes are linked.
C) Gene A is linked but genes B and C are not.
D) Gene A is assorting independently of genes B and C, which are linked.
E) Gene A is located 14.4 map units from genes B and C.
17) One map unit is equivalent to which of the following values?
A) the physical distance between two linked genes
B) 1% frequency of recombination between two genes
C) 1 nanometer of distance between two genes
D) the distance between a pair of homologous chromosomes
E) the recombination frequency between two genes assorting independently
18) Which of the following events causes recombination between linked genes to occur?
A) Mutation on one homolog is different from that on the other homolog.
B) When genes are linked they always “travel” together at anaphase.
C) Crossovers between these genes result in chromosomal exchange.
D) Nonrecombinant chromosomes break and then re-join with one another.
19) Why does recombination between linked genes continue to occur?
A) Recombination is a requirement for independent assortment.
B) Recombination must occur or genes will not assort independently.
C) New allele combinations are acted upon by natural selection.
D) Without recombination there would be an insufficient number of gametes.
20) Map units on a linkage map cannot be relied upon to calculate physical distances on a
chromosome for which of the following reasons?
A) The frequency of crossing over varies along the length of the chromosome.
B) The relationship between recombination frequency and map units is different in every
individual.
C) Physical distances between genes change during the course of the cell cycle.
D) The gene order on the chromosomes is slightly different in every individual.
21) What is the reason that closely linked genes are typically inherited together?
A) The likelihood of a crossover event between these two genes is low.
B) The number of genes in a cell is greater than the number of chromosomes.
C) Chromosomes are unbreakable.
D) Alleles are paired together during meiosis.
E) Genes align that way during metaphase I of meiosis.
22) Sturtevant provided genetic evidence for the existence of four pairs of chromosomes in
Drosophila in which of the following ways?
A) There are four major functional classes of genes in Drosophila.
B) Drosophila genes cluster into four distinct groups of linked genes.
C) The overall number of genes in Drosophila is a multiple of four.
D) The entire Drosophila genome has approximately 400 map units.
E) Drosophila genes have, on average, four different alleles.
23) If cell X enters meiosis, and nondisjunction of one chromosome occurs in one of its daughter
cells during meiosis II, what will be the result at the completion of meiosis?
A) All the gametes descended from cell X will be diploid.
B) Half of the gametes descended from cell X will be n + 1, and half will be n – 1.
C) One-fourth of the gametes descended from cell X will be n + 1, 1/4 will be n – 1, and 1/2 will
be n.
D) There will be three extra gametes.
E) Two of the four gametes descended from cell X will be haploid, and two will be diploid.
24) One possible result of chromosomal breakage is for a fragment to join a nonhomologous
chromosome. What is this alteration called?
A) deletion
B) transversion
C) inversion
D) translocation
E) duplication
25) A translocation causes which of the following results?
A) deletion only
B) exchange of homologous chromosome fragments
C) nondisjunction
D) exchange of nonhomologous chromosome fragments
26) Of the following human aneuploidies, which is the one that generally has the most severe
impact on the health of the individual?
A) 47,+21
B) 47,XXY
C) 47,XXX
D) 47,XYY
E) 45,X
27) A phenotypically normal prospective couple seeks genetic counseling because the man
knows that he has a translocation of a portion of his chromosome 4 that has been exchanged with
a portion of his chromosome 12. Although he is normal because his translocation is balanced, he
and his wife want to know the probability that his sperm will be abnormal. What is your
prognosis regarding his sperm?
A) One-fourth will be normal, 1/4 will have the translocation, and 1/2 will have duplications and
deletions.
B) All will carry the same translocation as the father.
C) None will carry the translocation because abnormal sperm will die.
D) His sperm will be sterile so the couple might consider adoption.
E) One-half will be normal and the rest will have the father’s translocation.
28) Abnormal chromosomes are frequently found in malignant tumors. Errors such as
translocations may place a gene in close proximity to different control regions. Which of the
following might then occur to make the cancer worse?
A) an increase in nondisjunction
B) expression of inappropriate gene products
C) a decrease in mitotic frequency
D) death of the cancer cells in the tumor
29) An inversion in a human chromosome often results in no demonstrable phenotypic effect in
the individual. What else may occur?
A) There may be deletions later in life.
B) Some abnormal gametes may be formed.
C) There is an increased frequency of mutation.
D) The individual is more likely to get cancer.
30) What is the source of the extra chromosome 21 in an individual with Down syndrome?
A) nondisjunction in the mother only
B) nondisjunction in the father only
C) duplication of the chromosome
D) nondisjunction or translocation in either parent
31) Down syndrome has a frequency in the U.S. population of ~1/830 live births. In which of the
following groups would you expect this frequency to be significantly higher?
A) people in Latin or South America
B) the Inuit and other peoples in very cold habitats
C) people living in equatorial areas of the world
D) very small population groups
E) No groups have a significantly higher frequency.
32) A couple has a child with Down syndrome. The mother is 39 years old at the time of
delivery. Which of the following is the most probable cause of the child’s condition?
A) The woman inherited this tendency from her parents.
B) One member of the couple carried a translocation.
C) One member of the couple underwent nondisjunction in somatic cell production.
D) One member of the couple underwent nondisjunction in gamete production.
E) The mother had a chromosomal duplication.
33) What is a syndrome?
A) a characteristic facial appearance
B) a group of traits, all of which must be present if an aneuploidy is to be diagnosed
C) a group of traits typically found in conjunction with a particular chromosomal aberration or
gene mutation
D) a characteristic trait usually given the discoverer’s name
E) a characteristic that only appears in conjunction with one specific aneuploidy
34) Which of the following is known as a Philadelphia chromosome?
A) a human chromosome 22 that has had a specific translocation
B) a human chromosome 9 that is found only in one type of cancer
C) an animal chromosome found primarily in the mid-Atlantic area of the United States
D) an imprinted chromosome that always comes from the mother
35) At what point in cell division is a chromosome lost so that, after fertilization with a normal
gamete, the result is an embryo with 45,X?
A) after an error occurring in anaphase I or anaphase II
B) after an error occurring in anaphase I only
C) after an error occurring in anaphase II only
D) after an error occurring in prophase I only
E) after an error occurring in metaphase II only
36) Which of the following statements correctly describes aneuploid conditions?
A) A monosomy is more frequent than a trisomy.
B) Monosomy X is the only known viable human monosomy.
C) Of all human aneuploidies, only Down syndrome is associated with mental retardation.
D) An aneuploidy resulting in the deletion of a chromosome segment is less serious than a
duplication.
37) A woman is found to have 47 chromosomes, including three X chromosomes. Which of the
following describes her expected phenotype?
A) masculine characteristics such as facial hair
B) enlarged genital structures
C) healthy female of slightly above-average height
D) sterile female
12.2 Art Questions
1) Figure 12.1 shows a map of four genes on a chromosome.
Figure 12.1
Between which two genes would you expect the highest frequency of recombination?
A) A and W
B) W and E
C) E and G
D) A and E
E) A and G
2)
Figure 12.2
In a series of mapping experiments, the recombination frequencies for four different linked genes
of Drosophila were determined as shown in Figure 12.2. What is the order of these genes on a
chromosome map?
A) rb–cn–vg-b
B) vg-b-rb–cn
C) cn–rb-b-vg
D) b-rb–cn–vg
E) vg–cn-b-rb
Please use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
A plantlike organism on the planet Pandora can have three recessive genetic traits: bluish leaves,
due to an allele (a) of gene A; a feathered stem, due to an allele (b) of gene B; and hollow roots
due to an allele (c) of gene C. The three genes are linked and recombine.
A geneticist did a testcross with an organism that had been found to be heterozygous for the
three recessive traits and was able to identify progeny of the phenotypic distribution (+ = wild
type) shown in Figure 12.3.
Figure 12.3
3) Which of the following are the phenotypes of the parents in this cross?
A) 2 and 5
B) 1 and 6
C) 4 and 8
D) 3 and 7
E) 1 and 2
4) In which progeny phenotypes has there been recombination between genes A and B?
A) 1, 2, 5, and 6
B) 1, 3, 6, and 7
C) 2, 4, 5, and 8
D) 2, 3, 5, and 7
E) in all 8 of them
5) If recombination frequency is equal to distance in map units, what is the approximate distance
between genes A and B?
A) 1.5 map units
B) 3 map units
C) 6 map units
D) 15 map units
E) 30 map units
6) What is the greatest benefit of having used a testcross for this experiment?
A) The homozygous recessive parents are obvious to the naked eye.
B) The homozygous parents are the only ones whose crossovers make a difference.
C) Progeny can be scored by their phenotypes alone.
D) All of the progeny will be heterozygous.
E) The homozygous recessive parents will be unable to cross over.
7) The greatest distance among the three genes is between a and c. What does this mean?
A) Gene c is between a and b.
B) Genes are in the order: a-b-c.
C) Gene a is not recombining with c.
D) Gene a is between b and c.
E) Distance a–b is equal to distance a–c.
12.3 Scenario Questions
Please use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
A man who is an achondroplastic dwarf with normal vision marries a color-blind woman of
normal height. The man’s father was 6 feet tall, and both the woman’s parents were of average
height. Achondroplastic dwarfism is autosomal dominant, and red-green color blindness is X-
linked recessive.
1) How many of the couple’s daughters might be expected to be color-blind dwarfs?
A) all
B) none
C) half
D) one out of four
E) three out of four
2) What proportion of their sons would be color-blind and of normal height?
A) none
B) half
C) one out of four
D) three out of four
E) all
3) They have a daughter who is a dwarf with normal color vision. What is the probability that
she is heterozygous for both genes?
A) 0%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 75%
E) 100%