Dr O Brien extended his findings about the delta 32 mutation

Last updated: 5/14/2023

Dr O Brien extended his findings about the delta 32 mutation by looking for the mutation in descendants of survivors of the black plague in Great Britain Because the bacterium that causes plague also begins its attack on the body by entering white blood cells O Brien wondered if this deadly disease could have selected for individuals with the mutation He tested people in a small town in England in which about half the population had never become ill when the plague struck the community in 1665 He found a much higher percentage of the townspeople had the delta 32 mutation than in the populations of other continents If O Brien is correct this mutation provided protection from an epidemic that killed 1 3 of Europeans The heterozygous condition would probably have delayed onset of symptoms William was a survivor of the plague in 1665 because he was homozygous for the delta 32 mutation D D He moved to a town in England that was unaffected by the plague and marries Elizabeth who was homozygous normal DD 7 Based upon what is now known of William and Elizabeths genotypes what is the probability they could have a child with the partial resistance phenotype Solve a Punnett Square to estimate this probability Show your work below