*5. Margaret is studying a population of sunflowers that are genetically variable in a controlled lab setting. She measures the mean and variance of seed set on 1000 individuals. The phenotypic variance in seed number is 30. She picks one plant to self-pollinate and produces 200 genetically identical progeny. The phenotypic variance in seed number in these progeny is 20. Use this information to answer the questions below.
A. Calculate the broad-sense Heritability (H2)
B. What does the broad-sense heritability value tell you about the role of genetics and environment on phenotypic variance in seed number?
C. Margret has decided to leave academia and become a lawyer. She has also decided to bring her sunflowers with her and plant them in her garden. She repeats the experiment described above in her yard, and calculates an H2 for seed set to be 0.90. Give two reasons why it is not surprising that this value is different from the one in part A.
D. Researchers determine that the narrow-sense heritability (h2) of seed set in sunflowers is 0.50. These researches undertake a project to increase the number of seeds produced by each plant. The mean number of seeds is currently 75. Plants with a mean of 100 seeds are interbred as parents of the next generation. What mean number of seeds can be expected in this generation?
E. If the narrow-sense heritability in sunflowers is 0.50 how do you explain how Margret calculated an H2 of 0.90 for seed set in her garden?
*5. Margaret is studying a population of sunflowers that are genetically variable in a controlled lab setting. She measures the mean and variance of seed set on 1000 individuals. The phenotypic variance in seed number is 30. She picks one plant to self-pollinate and produces 200 genetically identical progeny. The phenotypic variance in seed number in these progeny is 20. Use this information to answer the questions below.
A. Calculate the broad-sense Heritability (H2)
B. What does the broad-sense heritability value tell you about the role of genetics and environment on phenotypic variance in seed number?
C. Margret has decided to leave academia and become a lawyer. She has also decided to bring her sunflowers with her and plant them in her garden. She repeats the experiment described above in her yard, and calculates an H2 for seed set to be 0.90. Give two reasons why it is not surprising that this value is different from the one in part A.
D. Researchers determine that the narrow-sense heritability (h2) of seed set in sunflowers is 0.50. These researches undertake a project to increase the number of seeds produced by each plant. The mean number of seeds is currently 75. Plants with a mean of 100 seeds are interbred as parents of the next generation. What mean number of seeds can be expected in this generation?
E. If the narrow-sense heritability in sunflowers is 0.50 how do you explain how Margret calculated an H2 of 0.90 for seed set in her garden?
