Or does it just mean that it's unknown?
2006-12-06 05:37:24 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
It means it could either be b or B but either way that does not change to the phenotype of the individual. I presume this is part of a question dealing with a family tree (that is how these were always presented to me and because you are given Aa instead of A-) and the entire reason it is not given is so it is more of a challenge to determine the genotype of the offspring or so you can't definitively determine their genotype and must figure out probabilities.
2006-12-06 06:03:54 · answer #1 · answered by Science nerd 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you see "-" it means unknown. So, the gene action at the B locus is complete dominance and you can't tell if the second allele is another B or if it's a b that's hidden by the dominant B. The only way to tell for sure is to mate to a bb individual and see if you get any bb offspring.
2006-12-07 03:44:17 · answer #2 · answered by J.M. R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing your dealing with the genotype of blood, which in that case, the "-" means Rh-. You can be Rh+ or Rh-. Rh stands for Rhesus monkey. You can probably look up what that has to do with it, but in general, it's an antigen found in Rhesus monkey blood that some humans have =Rh+ or don't have =Rh-.
2006-12-06 06:00:41 · answer #3 · answered by jason e 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually it does stand for "anything." That spot could be filled with any allele but the phenotype will be unchanged--having that one B there determines what it will be.
2006-12-06 05:41:53 · answer #4 · answered by CherryPie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋