INTRODUCTION
Genetics, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a branch of biology that deals with the heredity and variation of organisms. This concept was first recognized by Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics; in 1866, he first published his findings on the method of inheritance in garden pea plants. What attracted Mendel to genetics, initially, were the observations of certain varieties of garden pea plants, which produced specific forms of a trait, generation after generation. To understand why certain traits were inherited, he performed many experiments and discovered an allele and established inheritance patterns in a single trait and simultaneous inheritance patterns of two or more traits in the same plant.
In years to come, many scientists continued to build upon Mendel’s findings and seek improvement. A major component in advancement to genetics is the fruit fly or Drosophila melanogaster. Although they are minuscule, do not doubt their contributions to science, for fruit flies have become one of science’s colossal breakthroughs. To start with, D. melanogaster is the most commonly used model organism in genetic research. At the beginning of the 20th century, research on fruit flies started the new scientific field of genetics. With four pairs of chromosomes, in March 2000, it was one of the first organisms whose Genome was completely decoded. In addition, fruit flies are abundantly common. They can be found just about anywhere and are inexpensive. Due to their small size, fruit flies are also effortless to care requiring little equipment or space and grow within 10 days. Another advantage to fruit flies is it is uncomplicated to differentiate between genders. Females are generally larger than males, have pointed and elongated tipped abdomens, no sex combs, and seven segments on their abdomens. Whereas compared to males, who have sex combs on their forelegs, 5 segments on their abdomen, and dark, rounded abdomen ends. Plus, within 8-12 hours of emergence, females are ready to reproduce. Females lay countless eggs (about 2,000 eggs in their lives and up to 100 eggs per day). The larger the number of offspring involved in a cross, the more likely the experimental results will match the theoretical results predicted by a Punnett square. Overall, D. melanogaster is a valuable model organism, for it is simple. The revelation of fruit flies contributes to numerous discoveries and research such as genome research; predicting disorders; and advances in medicine, technology, and science. Fruit flies and genetics continue to reveal incredible solutions to mysteries and effectively, auspiciously steers science into a propitious outlook.
Similar to the lab we performed, many scientists in the world are including their comparable results in their research. From the fruit fly lab, our expected results almost nearly matched our observed results of a nine to three to three to one ratio for the F2 generation. The chi square data resulted in a significant number however proving that our lab was incorrectly executed. Although this may be true, we did establish a relationship between the expected and observed results.
In years to come, many scientists continued to build upon Mendel’s findings and seek improvement. A major component in advancement to genetics is the fruit fly or Drosophila melanogaster. Although they are minuscule, do not doubt their contributions to science, for fruit flies have become one of science’s colossal breakthroughs. To start with, D. melanogaster is the most commonly used model organism in genetic research. At the beginning of the 20th century, research on fruit flies started the new scientific field of genetics. With four pairs of chromosomes, in March 2000, it was one of the first organisms whose Genome was completely decoded. In addition, fruit flies are abundantly common. They can be found just about anywhere and are inexpensive. Due to their small size, fruit flies are also effortless to care requiring little equipment or space and grow within 10 days. Another advantage to fruit flies is it is uncomplicated to differentiate between genders. Females are generally larger than males, have pointed and elongated tipped abdomens, no sex combs, and seven segments on their abdomens. Whereas compared to males, who have sex combs on their forelegs, 5 segments on their abdomen, and dark, rounded abdomen ends. Plus, within 8-12 hours of emergence, females are ready to reproduce. Females lay countless eggs (about 2,000 eggs in their lives and up to 100 eggs per day). The larger the number of offspring involved in a cross, the more likely the experimental results will match the theoretical results predicted by a Punnett square. Overall, D. melanogaster is a valuable model organism, for it is simple. The revelation of fruit flies contributes to numerous discoveries and research such as genome research; predicting disorders; and advances in medicine, technology, and science. Fruit flies and genetics continue to reveal incredible solutions to mysteries and effectively, auspiciously steers science into a propitious outlook.
Similar to the lab we performed, many scientists in the world are including their comparable results in their research. From the fruit fly lab, our expected results almost nearly matched our observed results of a nine to three to three to one ratio for the F2 generation. The chi square data resulted in a significant number however proving that our lab was incorrectly executed. Although this may be true, we did establish a relationship between the expected and observed results.