Middle school science problem

[middleschool]

I have to give this question to my 6th grade science class. As scientists, please answer it like you would on a test:

A green bean plant has a genotype of Ttyy, what are the possible

genetic combinations that could be present in a bean from this plant?

A) Ty, ty

B) TT, Tt, tt, yy

C) Tt, yy

D) Tt, yy, Ty, ty

16)

 

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I was going to answer A, but then I did a bit of searching and read that beans come from the fertilization of haploid gametes by pollen, which implies that the answer could be anything, depending on what kind of plant the pollen comes from.

 

But I'm a physics major, so I probably don't know much more than the 6th graders.

[Ringer]

Well, I wrote a fairly detailed answer and it was lost in the void of the internet.

 

Anyway, I assume it's asking about gamete formation. The gamete will form from a diploid parent cell to a haploid cell. Being a haploid cell it wants one set of each gene. After that it's easy to wean the down the answers to the correct one.

[middleschool]

so your answer is?

[jimmydasaint]

Rather than answering the question, please look over the following animation and all will become clear:

 

Dihybrid cross

Edited November 15, 2011 by jimmydasaint

[Ophiolite]

Being a haploid cell it wants one set of each gene.

i.e. it must have a T or a t and a y or a y. The y and the y are indisinguishable. Therefore..........