Answer :
Final answer:
If a parental generation individual is heterozygous for both traits, their gametes could possess combinations of WS, Ws, wS, and ws due to the law of independent assortment. Four possible gamete combinations come from this scenario, highlighting the variety in genetics. Thus the right answer is option (B) WS, Ws, wS, and ws
Explanation:
If an individual within the parental generation was heterozygous for both traits, the combinations of traits their gametes could possess would be WS, Ws, wS, and ws. This scenario falls under dihybrid crosses in genetics, which deal with the inheritance of two different traits. Each parent can donate one of two alleles for each gene, leading to four possible combinations of alleles in the gametes.
Dihybrid crosses can be represented through a Punnett square, showing all possible combinations of alleles from the parents and their likelihood of occurring in offspring. When both traits are considered, such as being heterozygous for both W and S genes (WwSs), the four possible gamete combinations are a result of the law of independent assortment. This law states that the alleles of one gene segregate into gametes independently of the alleles for another gene, leading to a variety of genetic combinations in the offspring.
