What type of cross involves studying two traits simultaneously?

A dihybrid cross is specifically designed to study two traits simultaneously. In this type of genetic cross, two genes, each with two alleles, are considered to see how they segregate and assort independently during gamete formation and their inheritance in offspring.

For example, if we consider a cross between individuals that are heterozygous for two traits (e.g., seed color and seed shape in pea plants), the dihybrid cross allows researchers to analyze the combinations of traits that can occur in the offspring. According to Mendel's law of independent assortment, the alleles for one trait separate independently from the alleles for another trait, leading to a phenotypic ratio of 9:3:3:1 in the offspring.

In contrast, a monohybrid cross focuses on a single trait, a test cross is used to determine the genotype of an organism exhibiting a dominant phenotype, and a back cross involves crossing an F1 hybrid back to one of its parents or an organism with a similar genotype. None of these options facilitate the study of two traits at the same time as effectively as a dihybrid cross does.