Part 1

Tom Ato’s New Crop

Tom Ato, a farmer in central New Jersey, is attempting to improve the yield of his
tomato crop. He wants to create a tomato ​hybrid​1​ ​that will produce lots of tomatoes,
reaching at least 10 ounces in size.

Tomatoes with cracks in them are harder to sell, so Tom Ato needs his tomato ​hybrid ​to
resist ​cracking​.2​​ ​Unfortunately, soil testing has indicated that Tom Ato’s soil is infected
with ​nematodes​3​ ​and ​tomato mosaic virus​,4​ ​which affect the growth of the tomatoes.

Since treating his fields with chemicals to remove these disease-causing agents is
expensive and can harm the environment, Tom Ato wants ​hybrid ​tomato plants that are
resistant to these two infectious agents. He plans to cross two varieties of ​purebred​5
tomatoes in an attempt to obtain all of the traits he is looking for: crack resistant,
nematode-resistant, tomato mosaic virus-resistant, and at least 10 ounces in size.

1​
hybrid ​– offspring of crosses between parents with different traits
2​
cracking ​– a common problem for tomatoes grown in regions where rainfall amounts can be unpredictable 3​
nematodes ​– microscopic roundworms living in soil that attack the roots of plants
4​
tomato mosaic virus ​– a common plant disease that lowers the quality and quantity of the crop
5​
purebred ​– organisms that carry only one variation of a characteristic

Adapted, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TASK, TOM ATO’S NEW CROP, NJ EOC BIOLOGY 2010,
RELEASED AUGUST 30, 2010
 Figure 1
Varieties of Pure Breeding Tomatoes and Their Traits

+ ​= trait is present in tomato

Abe Lincoln x Solar Fire

R= cracked skin r=crack-resistant

100% chance of the offspring having crack resistant skin.

a aa aa

Adapted, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TASK, TOM ATO’S NEW CROP, NJ EOC BIOLOGY 2010,
RELEASED AUGUST 30, 2010
 a aa aa

R=Nematode r =nematode resistant

50% chance of offspring being Nematode resistant.

B Bb Bb

b bb bb

R= tomato virus r=resistant/

The offspring will have a 50% chance of being resistant to the Tomato Virus.
tomato -virus C c
resistant

c Cc cc

c Cc cc

D=less than 10 oz ​ ​d=greater than 10 oz

100% of the offspring will be at least 10 oz

d dd dd

d dd dd

Your Task:

1) Select two varieties of ​purebred ​tomato to cross from Figure 1 to produce a

∙ ​crack-resistant
∙ ​nematode-resistant
∙ ​tomato mosaic virus-resistant
Adapted, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TASK, TOM ATO’S NEW CROP, NJ EOC BIOLOGY 2010,
RELEASED AUGUST 30, 2010
 ∙ ​at least 10 ounces in size

2) Explain, using evidence from the table in Figure 1, why the two tomato
varieties were selected to cross in order to create the desired hybrid.

We chose Abe Lincoln and Solar Fire because we saw in the chart that we
needed one tomato that was homozygous recessive and one that was heterozygous
dominant. We used a trial and error method to find out which parents worked best
together. When you look at the chart you see that both Abe Lincoln and Solar Fire had
two pure recessive traits, and one carrier. When we crossed them we made sure that
the offspring had at least a 50% chance of getting the desired trait. Even though some
offspring inherited the dominant trait, we saw the recessive trait in the genotype.

3) Although Tom chose a combination in which all four traits should be present,
not all of the hybrid offspring produced had the desired traits.
Discuss ​ONE ​reason as to why this outcome could occur​.
This outcome would occur because there was no genotypic way that the offspring would
have an 100% chance of inheriting the recessive trait. There was no chance of this, because in
all of the parent tomatoes they had at least one dominant gene. If they did have a dominant gene
then it would have to be heterozygous, because if it was homozygous, then none of the offspring
would inherit the recessive trait.

4) Tom was successful in obtaining the desired traits from the two varieties of
purebreds during the first cross. Looking ahead to the next planting season, would
you recommend that he cross the first generation of hybrid offspring ​OR ​cross the
purebred parents again?
Justify your recommendation using biological concepts and principles.
We would recommend that Tom uses the pure bred plants because they still
produce a higher percentage of offspring that have the resistance trait. Using the hybrid
will result in 25% chance of having resistance, compared to the pure breeds that had up
to 50% of offspring that can have resistance.
Nematode b b Nematod B b
(pure breed) e hybrid
resistant

B Bb Bb B BB Bb

b bb bb b Bb bb

Adapted, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TASK, TOM ATO’S NEW CROP, NJ EOC BIOLOGY 2010,
RELEASED AUGUST 30, 2010
 5)​ ​Bacillus thuringiensis​ is a bacteria which lives in the soil and makes a protein that kills
nematodes (but does not harm people or other animals). ​Describe how genetic
engineering could be used to provide nematode resistance to plants.
We can use this manipulation of the DNA to transfer the nematode-killing protein into the
DNA of the tomato plants that lack the resistance to nematodes. To build this recombinant
DNA, we would take the plasmid and enter the ​Bacillus thuringiensis i​ nto the plasmid, then take
the newly constructed genetic sequence and place it into a new tomato plant cell (‘donor gene’).
The cell will reproduce normally, and will pass down this protein to its offspring.
Scoring Rubric
Prewriting and Planning​ (optional)
Response​, or provide a link to your digital work product

Tom Ato’s New Crop

Adapted, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TASK, TOM ATO’S NEW CROP, NJ EOC BIOLOGY 2010,
RELEASED AUGUST 30, 2010
 ● Thoroughly ● Explains how ● Provides a ● Little or no
explains how genetic partial explanation
use of genetic engineering explanation was provide
engineering could provide about how about genetic
could provide nematode genetic engineering
nematode resistance with engineering and nematode
resistance. a high degree of could provide resistance.
accuracy. nematode
resistance.

Adapted, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TASK, TOM ATO’S NEW CROP, NJ EOC BIOLOGY 2010,
RELEASED AUGUST 30, 2010