Suppose you infect E. coli cells with two strains of T4 virus. One strain is minute (m), rapid lysis (r) and turbid (t); the other is wild-type for all three markers. The lytic products of this dual infection are plated on a lawn of E. coli and the morphology of the plaques are classified. The resulting 10, 342 plaques were distributed among eight phenotypes, as follows:
m r t 3467
+ + + 3729
m r + 853
m + t 162
m + + 520
+ r t 474
+ r + 172
+ + t 965
You decide to repeat the exact same experiment as outlined above and this time you count and classify 25, 000 plaques? How many plaques would you expect to be wild-type for all three markers? (Hint: You will need to calculate the coefficient of coincidence for the cross above and apply that to your answer.)