Test cross
A test cross is a fundamental technique in Mendelian genetics used to determine the genotype of an organism exhibiting a dominant phenotype, achieved by crossing it with an individual that is homozygous recessive for the same trait.[1] This method reveals whether the dominant-phenotype organism is homozygous dominant or heterozygous by examining the phenotypic ratio in the offspring.[2] Developed by Gregor Mendel in his experiments with pea plants during the mid-19th century, the test cross served to verify his hypotheses on inheritance patterns, particularly the law of segregation.[2] In a typical monohybrid test cross, if the unknown parent is homozygous dominant (e.g., RR for round seeds), all offspring will display the dominant trait, resulting in a 1:0 phenotypic ratio of dominant to recessive.[1] Conversely, if the unknown parent is heterozygous (e.g., Rr), the offspring will show a 1:1 ratio of dominant to recessive phenotypes, as the recessive parent contributes only recessive alleles.[3] This approach remains a cornerstone in genetic analysis, applicable to both plants and animals, and extends to dihybrid test crosses for assessing multiple traits simultaneously.[4]Principles and Definition
Basic Concept
A test cross is a genetic mating between an individual exhibiting a dominant phenotype, whose genotype is unknown (potentially homozygous dominant or heterozygous), and a homozygous recessive individual.[3] This technique relies on the recessive parent contributing only recessive alleles, allowing the offspring phenotypes to directly reflect the alleles contributed by the unknown parent.[1] The primary purpose of a test cross is to determine the genotype of the dominant-phenotype parent by observing the phenotypes in the offspring, thereby resolving whether it is homozygous dominant or heterozygous for the trait in question.[5] A key example is the cross between a tall pea plant of unknown genotype (T?) and a short pea plant (tt), where tall height (T) is dominant to short height (t).[2] This setup illustrates the basic monohybrid test cross, with parental genotypes T? and tt producing gametes T (or T and t) from the unknown parent and only t from the recessive parent. The Punnett square for the homozygous dominant case (TT × tt) is as follows:| t | t | |
|---|---|---|
| T | Tt | Tt |
| T | Tt | Tt |
| t | t | |
|---|---|---|
| T | Tt | Tt |
| t | tt | tt |
Genetic Rationale and Expected Ratios
The genetic rationale for the test cross derives from Mendel's law of segregation, which posits that the two alleles at a gene locus separate during gamete formation, with each gamete receiving only one allele randomly.[7] In this cross, an individual of unknown genotype exhibiting the dominant phenotype (A?) is mated with a homozygous recessive individual (aa). The recessive parent contributes solely a alleles via its gametes, ensuring that the phenotype of each offspring mirrors the specific allele (A or a) inherited from the unknown parent.[8] This setup unmasks the underlying genotype of the dominant-phenotype parent, as the recessive parent's uniform gametic output eliminates masking effects from dominance. For a monohybrid test cross, the expected phenotypic ratios depend on the unknown parent's genotype. If the unknown is homozygous dominant (AA), it produces exclusively A gametes, yielding all Aa offspring that display the dominant phenotype—a 1:0 (all dominant) ratio.[1] If heterozygous (Aa), the unknown produces A and a gametes in equal proportions (1:1), resulting in half Aa (dominant) and half aa (recessive) offspring—a 1:1 ratio.[1] These ratios stem directly from the equal segregation of alleles into gametes, as Mendel demonstrated through his pea plant experiments where hybrid forms produced gametes in fixed proportions.[7] The derivations can be visualized using Punnett squares, which predict genotypic and phenotypic outcomes based on gamete combinations. For AA × aa:| A | A | |
|---|---|---|
| a | Aa | Aa |
| a | Aa | Aa |
| A | a | |
|---|---|---|
| a | Aa | aa |
| a | Aa | aa |