What does a phenotype ratio of 1:1:1:1 in a test cross suggest about the genotypes?

A phenotype ratio of 1:1:1:1 in a test cross indicates that the parent organisms were likely heterozygous for one trait and homozygous recessive for another, leading to equal proportions of the different phenotypes in the offspring. In a typical test cross, where one parent is homozygous recessive (which shows the recessive phenotype) and the other parent is heterozygous (which may express the dominant phenotype), the offspring will display a mix of both the dominant and recessive traits in a predictable manner.

When two traits are involved, if the heterozygous parent can contribute one of two alleles for each trait, and the homozygous recessive parent can only contribute the recessive alleles, this results in a phenotypic ratio of 1:1:1:1 among the offspring. This specific ratio suggests that the offspring exhibit all combinations of the alleles present, consistent with the genetic composition of a heterozygous and homozygous recessive parent.

In contrast, the other choices do not align with this interpretation. For instance, if only dominant alleles were present, one would expect different outcomes in the offspring's phenotypes. Similarly, if all offspring