Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are model organisms that are used in teaching and researching genetic mutations. This research is important for furthering our understanding of genetics, as fruit flies share many of the same genes as humans, which allows us to study topics like genetic diseases and mechanisms throughout many generations in a short amount of time. I designed this experiment with the intent to demonstrate how different types of genetic mutations occur, and that the possible physical/phenotypic mutations the offspring could inherit can be predicted utilizing Punnett squares. I hypothesized that if two fruit flies with phenotypic mutations are paired together, then the resulting offspring will follow the results of their corresponding Punnett square.

For this experiment, male and female fruit flies were paired together based on their phenotypes to make the P1 generation. The offspring of that pairing, the F1 generation, were counted and their mutations were recorded. With this data, the predicted percentages from the Punnett squares were compared to the actual F1 mutation percentages and data. The F1 flies were then paired together and the process was repeated to produce and record the F2 generation results. The data that was collected, along with the predicted percentages, supported my hypothesis. Although some of the data contained inconsistencies due to unavoidable factors, Punnett squares were still useful in showing where the inconsistencies were derived and that they could have been predicted. If I were to perform this experiment again, I would change some aspects of the procedure to make it more efficient and to reduce the possibility of errors.