male 0 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:w,b:L,a:l,b:t,a:t,a:p,a:f,a:a,a:B male 0 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:w,b:L,a:l,b:t,a:t,a:P,a:f,a:a,a:B female 1 b:h,a:H,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:w,b:L,a:l,b:t,a:t,b:p,a:p,b:F,a:f,b:a,a:a,b:B,a:B female 1 b:h,a:H,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:w,b:L,a:l,b:t,a:t,b:p,a:P,b:F,a:f,b:a,a:a,b:B,a:B <OTCompoundDoc local_id="title" showEditBar="true"> <bodyText> <div class="leftpanel"> <div class="activity-title">GENIQUEST</div> </div> </bodyText> </OTCompoundDoc>
Today is a very exciting day on the island of Gandwar. Two dragons there are about to have a baby. Because it happens only about every 500 years, the birth of a dragon is met with great anticipation. The lucky parents are Molthwan and Lucenne, two of the island’s most admired inhabitants.
Like all eager parents, Molthwan and Lucenne are anxious to know what their baby will be like. Molthwan is especially interested in knowing whether the baby will have horns, a much-admired trait. Lucenne is hoping that the baby will have wings and be able to fly, something not many dragons on Gandwar are able to do.
Try breeding some dragons to see if you can figure out any rules that govern which dragons have horns.


Based on these examples, what kind of a trait do you think horns are? Dominant Recessive
Now try breeding some dragons to see if you can figure out any rules that govern which dragons have wings. Click the button to breed possible children from these pairs.



What can you say about the offspring of two dragons that have wings? If one parent has wings, does that guarantee that the child will have wings? Yes No What do these two scenarios tell you about how wings are inherited? male 0 b:H,a:H,b:S,a:S,b:w,a:w,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,a:p,a:f,a:a,a:B female 1 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:w,a:w,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:T,b:p,a:p,b:F,a:F,b:A,a:a,b:B,a:B male 0 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:w,a:W,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,a:p,a:f,a:a,a:B female 1 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:w,a:w,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,b:p,a:p,b:F,a:F,b:A,a:a,b:B,a:B male 0 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:w,a:w,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,a:p,a:f,a:a,a:B female 1 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:W,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,b:p,a:p,b:F,a:F,b:A,a:a,b:B,a:B male 0 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:w,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,a:p,a:f,a:a,a:B female 1 b:h,a:h,b:S,a:S,b:W,a:w,b:l,a:L,b:t,a:t,b:p,a:p,b:F,a:F,b:A,a:a,b:B,a:B
Do you have an idea about how wings are inherited? Try the two scenarios below to see if they confirm your suspicions.


What kind of trait do you think wings are? Dominant Recessive Recessive
Looking Deeper
You have an idea about how horns and wings are inherited. In the next section, you will look deeper into the genetics of dragons to determine whether you were correct.
Below is a dragon and its chromosomes. You can control and change the dragon's genes. Try changing some of the genes and see what happens. Experiment with the genes for horns and wings to see if you were correct.
Which gene combinations yield horns? HH Hh hh Which gene combinations yield wings? WW Ww ww



Below you can see Molthwan and Lucenne's germ cells. By pressing the triangular play button, you can cause the cells to undergo meiosis. Click on the magnifying glass to zoom the views in for a closer look.

When both dragons have undergone meiosis, you can combine two gametes and fertilize them to create a child. Click one of the four gametes under each dragon and use the arrow buttons to move them into the middle. Before you click play to run fertilization, zoom in with the magnifying glass. Can you predict how the child will look just by examining the genes? (Note: You can click and drag the chromosomes to separate them for a better look.)

Now zoom in on Molthwan, our Daddy dragon. Your goal will be to create a child dragon with wings, but no legs. To inherit these traits, the child will need to have the gene combinations ww and ll .

Can Molthwan provide his half of these combinations?


Yes No

Now reset the meiosis and zoom in on Lucenne, our expectant mother dragon. Run meiosis a few times. (Note that you will have to return to the un-zoomed view and hit "reset" to get a fresh run).

If we want to "design" a child dragon with the gene combinations ww and ll , can Lucenne carry through on her part of the bargain?


Yes No

You're right: we have a problem. Lucenne can only give chromosomes with the genes Wl or wL. And neither of these will help us in our quest. Fortunately, there's a catch… Zoom in on Lucenne and press the triangular "play" button again. The process will stop halfway through and wait for you. When it does, click on one chromosome with the tip of your mouse. See the flashing arrows? The arrows show places on other organisms you can click. Try it.


Congratulations, you just created a child by crossing genes over! (This is also called genetic recombination, by the way.) Zoom out to reset things, and try a few more times. Can you create our designer ww and ll dragon now? Give it a shot.