4.02 Predicting Genetic Crosses

Our next stop in Genetic Park will be the Animal Pavilion. Up above, you see all of our horses. Let's head in that direction so we can get a closer look.

In this activity you will: become familiar with the concepts of genotypes and phenotypes predict genotypic and phenotypic ratios from a Punnett square

Believe it or not, the study of genetics is a very big business! A horse with the right breeding can sell for over $1 million. Yes...that's right, a million dollars. Scientists use their knowledge of inheritance to help produce horses that have superior traits. They breed them to be top competitors. Can anyone say," Kentucky Derby"?

Breeding the right show dog, or farm animal, is another example of where genetics is very important in producing just the right animal.

It is important to note that it takes great patience to breed animals. Unlike Mendel's pea plants, breeding animals takes a long time. Genetic breeders don't just breed animals blindly. They usually take a long time mapping the desirable traits and finding the right animals to breed, and they have a special "tool" that they use to work out the possible outcomes of a breeding before the pair of animals even meet.

These horses are beautiful and I hate to move on, but here's the trolley to Punnett's Square. Let's hop on and go see some of the other animals.

Continue this activity by clicking the BioVenture tab.