Genetics with Excel: Determining ratios from Punnett Square Crosses
Excel may not be the best program for working with trihybrid crosses (3
traits), tetrahybrid crosses (4 traits), and so on, but I have been able to
create a formula to fill in a monohybrid cross (1 trait) all the way to a
cross with 5 traits.
My problem lies with finding ratios for genotypes (allele combinations; e.g.
AaBbCCdd) and phenotypes (dominant in the presence of 'A,' recessive in the
presence of 'a' alone) using functions/formulae. In either case, the
function COUNTIF seems to be required, but Excel is not case sensitive. A
case sensitive function is required for determining the difference between
all dominant alleles (AABBCCDD) versus all recessive (aabbccdd).
The monohybrid cross is as follows:
A a
A| AA Aa
a | Aa aa
The phenotypic ratio would be 3:1 (3 containing the dominant 'A,' 1
containing no dominant 'A'). The genotypic ratio would be 1:2:1 (1 AA, 2
Aa, 1 aa).
The dihybrid cross is as follows:
AB Ab aB ab
AB| AABB AABb AaBB AaBb
Ab| AABb AAbb AaBb Aabb
aB| AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb
ab| AaBb Aabb aaBb aabb
The phenotypic ratio is 9 (A_B_):3 (A_b_):3 (a_B_):1 (a_b_) (notice how the
first letter of each pair determines how it's categorized). The genotypic
ratio is 1:2:1 (like the monohybrid):2:4:2 (lower left and upper right
squares are the same):1:2:1 (like another monohybrid).
When it reaches the cross with 5 traits (A, B, C, D, and E), there are 1024
squares, and that would be a pain to count regarding both ratios.
Any help with devising accurate shortcuts with counting either of the two,
or both, ratios would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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