Which one of the following organisms was used by Morgan to study genetic recombination?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Drosophila melanogaster
Thomas Hunt Morgan and his colleagues tested the chromosomal theory of inheritance by experiment. Morgan made dihybrid crosses in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. He found that some genes did not segregate independently. He called the physical association of genes on a chromosome linkage, and the making of non-parental gene combinations recombination.
(1) Snapdragon — Incorrect. The snapdragon (dog flower, Antirrhinum) is the standard example of incomplete dominance in flower colour, not of recombination.
(2) Pea — Incorrect. The garden pea was used by Mendel to give the laws of inheritance.
(3) Drosophila melanogaster — Correct. The fruit fly suits such studies. It grows on a simple synthetic medium, completes its life cycle in about two weeks, gives many offspring from one mating, and its male and female are easy to tell apart.
(4) Rat — Incorrect. Morgan did not use rats for these studies.
NCERT Extract:
Linkage and Recombination –
