you are given two populations of true‑breeding tomato plants with two traits that assort independently. using the multiplication rule, how many of the f2 progeny would you expect to have a recessive phenotype for both traits?
Using the multiplication rule to find the number of F2 progeny with a recessive phenotype for both traits:
When dealing with two traits that assort independently, the multiplication rule, also known as the product rule, is utilized. According to this rule, the probability of two independent events both occurring is calculated by multiplying their individual probabilities.
If we assume that each true-breeding population is homozygous for one of the traits, then the F1 generation would be heterozygous for both traits. When these plants are crossed, the resulting F2 generation will have a phenotypic ratio of 9:3:3:1, with 1/16 of the progeny expected to exhibit the recessive phenotype for both traits.
Therefore, using the multiplication rule, we would expect 1/16 of the F2 progeny to have a recessive phenotype for both traits.