Carefully explain how two white snails can be
crossed to (a) produce pigmented offspring,
and (b), a 9:7 ratio of pigmented:white grand-offspring
Albinism in the common freshwater snails can
result from the presence of two recessive alleles at
either of two different loci.
The 9:7 ratio seen in the F2 snails
can be understood as a modification
of the 9:3:3:1 ratio obtained when
two individuals heterozygous for two
different loci are crossed.
The 9:7 ratio arises when dominant
alleles at both loci (A_B_) produce
pigmented snails; any other genotype produces albino snails.
The 9:7 ratio in these snails is probably produced by a
two-step pathway of pigment production