Complementation and dosage - AndersenLab/Genetic-Analysis GitHub Wiki

Lecture 4

Muller's Morphs

This handy diagram may help when assigning Muller's morphs.

Mullers Morphs

Complementation Example

Complementation

The cross above is an example of genetic complementation. Two white-eyed strains are observed, and we want to know whether they have a loss-of-function mutation in the same gene. To determine whether or not this situation is the case, we can cross the two strains and observe whether the offspring have the wild-type phenotype or the mutant (white-eyed) phenotype. If they have the wild-type phenotype, then the mutations are said to complement one another, and occur in different functions or genes. If they have the mutant phenotype, the mutations are said to fail to complement one another, and occur in the same function or gene.

Note: if two genes are said to be in trans they are located on homologous chromosomes. Check out our Vocabulary page for more definitions!

Further Resources