GENETICS AND
INHERITANCE
presenter DNA
GENETICS
O Some characteristics or traits from
parents are passed down to the next
generation.
O The study of this is called heredity.
O DNA is the main molecule making up our
chromosomes and which carries our
genes.
O Gene – a segment of DNA in a
chromosome. A unit of heredity.
Inheriting
Traits
• Eye color, nose
shape and many
other physical
features are some
of the traits that are
inherited from
parents.
• An organism is a
collection of traits,
all inherited from it
parents.
Father of Genetics
• Gregor Mendel began experimenting with garden peas
in 1856
• Carefully observed the pea plants, resulting in the first
recorded study of how traits pass from one generation to
the next
• Used the math of
probability to
explain heredity
• The first to trace
one trait through
several
generations
Gregor Mendel
O Mendel chose true-breeding varieties of the
garden pea as the parents
O Mendel crossed a tall plant with a dwarf plant.
O Progeny from this cross, called the F1
generation (first filial generation) were all tall
O All the F1 plants were then self-pollinated to
obtain the F2 generation (second filial
generation)
O The F2 generation included both tall and
dwarf plants in the ratio of 3 tall to 1
dwarf(phenotype ratio)
O It is shown that only the dominant(strong)
trait appeared in the F1 generation.
O The recessive (weak) trait is blocked by
the strong trait from expressing itself and
is therefore hidden in the F1 generation
O 3 possible combination are:
Genetics terminology
Terms Definition Example
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid – a double
stranded molecule that encodes
genetic information
Chromosomes The self replicating genetic structure Chromosome
in cells containing the cellular DNA. number 5
Gene A segment of DNA in a chromosome. Gene for tongue
A unit of heredity. movement
Genetics terminology
Allele Alternative form of a Tongue roller (R) and
gene. not tongue roller (r)
Dominant An allele that is almost Tongue roller (R)
always expressed, even
if only one copy is
present.
Recessive A gene that will be Tongue roller (r)
expressed only if there
are two copies.
Genetics terminology
Homozygous The presence of two identical rr or RR
alleles of a gene. They may be
dominant or recessive
Heterozygous The presence of two different Rr
alleles for a particular trait in
the cells of the organism.
Phenotype The physical characteristics of Person can roll their
an organism. tongue or person
cannot roll their
tongue.
Genotype The genetic constitution of an RR or rr or Rr
organism of alleles for a
particular trait.
In all living things, characteristics are passed on in the chromosomes
that offspring inherit from their parents.
chromosome from chromosome
female parent from male parent
Chromosomes are matched in pairs that contain
one chromosome inherited from each parent.
So the genes in a matching pair of chromosomes are
not always exactly same?
The chromosomes in a matching pair contain the
same type of genes that code for the same
characteristics.
gene for gene for
eye colour eye colour
version for version for
brown eyes blue eyes
Each chromosome may have a different version of a
gene.
Different versions of a gene, that code for different
versions of a characteristic, are called alleles.
Traits
O Trait – An inherited characteristic of an
organism.
If the alleles in a matching pair are the same,
they are called homozygous alleles.
allele for allele for blue
Blue eyes eyes
allele for allele for
Brown eyes Brown eyes
What colour are eyes with these
homozygous pairs of alleles?
If the alleles in a matching pair are different,
they are called heterozygous alleles.
allele for allele for
Brown eyes Blue eyes
Which characteristic is expressed if alleles are different?
Some alleles are dominant to other forms of a gene
and will always be expressed.
Which is the dominant allele in this heterozygous pair?
Which is the recessive allele in this heterozygous pair?
Letters are used to represent different alleles.
A dominant allele is always a capital letter.
allele for
Brown eyes = B
A recessive allele is always the corresponding small
letter.
allele for
Blue eyes = b
The allele pair for each characteristic is called the
genotype.
What colour are eyes with the genotype Bb?
The allele pair for each characteristic is called the
genotype.
The physical expression of an allele pair is the
phenotype.
What are the phenotypes of these genotypes?
genotype: BB bb Bb
Brown Blue Brown
phenotype: eyes eyes
eyes
What do these genetic terms mean?
gene Section of DNA that codes for a particular trait
or characteristic.
allele A different form of a gene that codes for a
different version of a characteristic.
genotype A description of the pair of alleles present
for a characteristic.
phenotype The physical expression of the alleles.
Pair of alleles that produce a
homozygous characteristic that are the same, e.g.
HH.
heterozygous Pair of alleles that produce a
characteristic that are different, e.g.
Hh.
dominant An allele that will always be expressed
even when there is only one of these
alleles present, represented by a capital
letter.
recessive An allele that will only be expressed when
both alleles are of this type, represented
by a lower case letter.
The principles and
mechanism of inheritance
O The study of inherited characteristic is
called heredity
O Genes carry the inherited
characteristics of a person
O Each characteristic of a person is
controlled by a pair of genes
O A gene for a certain characteristic may
be a dominant gene or a recessive gene
Dominant genes and
recessive genes
O A dominant gene is powerful and can
mask the effect of a less powerful or
recessive gene in a pair
O A recessive gene is weak and cannot
show its effect if it is paired with a
dominant gene
O Each pair of genes is represented by two
letters, a capital letter used for a
dominant gene and a small letter for a
recessive gene
Dominant traits and recessive
traits in human
Dominant traits Recessive traits
Right handed Left handed
Tall Short
Black/Curly hair Brown/Straight hair
Black/Brown eyes Blue eyes
With ear lobe Without ear lobe
Can roll the tongue Cannot roll the tongue
Has normal vision Colour blind
Has dimples Has no dimple
Skin is pigmented Skin has no pigments(albino)
Long eye lashes Short eye lashes
The mechanism of trait
inheritance
O The character of height is determined by two
contrasting traits, tall and dwarf.
O The gene for tall is dominant while the gene for
dwarf is recessive
O If the gene for tall is represented by “T” and the
gene for dwarf is represented by “t”, there will be
three genetic combinations(genotype) for plant
height
O Genotype is the term used to describe the genetic
make-up or constitution of a person. It includes the
genes inherited from both parents, whether they
are dominant or recessive
O Phenotype is the physical traits such as colour of
the eyes, height and ect.
Monohybrid inheritance
O Characteristics that are inherited
through a single pair of genes are
examples of monohybrid inheritance
How are genes passed on to the
next generation?
O Genetic crosses can be shown using simple
genetic diagrams.
O A genetic diagram shows;
O The alleles for a characteristic carried by
the parents
O The possible gametes that can be formed
from these
O How they could combine to form the
characteristic in their offspring. The
offspring are shown as the first filial
generation (F1)
To create a genetic diagram
O To work out the possible gametes, you
need to look at the alleles of an
individual for a genetic trait and the
genotypes of each of the parents.
To create a genetic diagram
O You can use simple diagrams to work out
genetic crosses. You need to:
O Choose suitable symbols to represent the
dominant and recessive alleles, which is
usually the capital and lower case version of
a single letter.
O Provide a key to explain which symbol is
which
O Indicate clearly the genotypes of the
parents, the possible gametes, the possible
genotypes of the offspring and also the
ratio of the different possible phenotypes of
the offspring.
Example of a genetic cross
O If two individuals one who were brown eye and one
blue eye had children what where the possible
genotypes and phenotypes of those children
(brown eye is dominant over blue eye)?
Parent phenotypes: Brown Blue eye
Parent genotypes: eye bb
BB
Gametes: B B b b
Random fertilization:
Possible genotype of
off spring
Possible offspring phenotypes
Bb and bB =
brown
Example of a genetic cross
Dangly(free) earlobes
Attached earlobes
Question
What are the possible genotype and phenotype of the offspring from
parents, one with homozygous dangly ear and an attached ear parent. What
is the phenotype ratio of the offspring.
Let
D = Dangly(free) earlobes
d = Attached earlobes
Phenotype of parents Dangly Attache
d
DD dd
Genotype of parents
D d
Gametes
D D
Possible genotypes of off spring d Dd Dd
d Dd Dd
Possible phenotype of offspring All Dd
All dangly
earlobes
Question
What are the possible genotype and phenotype of the offspring from
parents, one with heterozygous dangly ear and an attached ear parent. What
is the phenotype ratio of the offspring.
Let
D = Dangly(free) earlobes
d = Attached earlobes
Phenotype of parents Dangly Attache
d
Dd dd
Genotype of parents
D d d
Gametes
D d
Possible genotypes of off spring d Dd dd
d Dd dd
Possible phenotype of offspring Ratio 1:1
Dangly : attached
Question
What are the possible genotype and phenotype of the offspring from a
parent, with heterozygous dangly earlobes and one with attached earlobe.
What is the phenotype ratio of the offspring.
Let
D = Dangly(free) earlobes
d = Attached earlobes
Phenotype of parents
Genotype of parents
Gametes
Possible genotypes of off spring
Possible phenotype of offspring
Question
What are the possible genotype and phenotype of the offspring from
parents, with heterozygous dangly earlobes What is the phenotype ratio of
the offspring.
Let
D = Dangly(free) earlobes
d = Attached earlobes
Phenotype of parents
Genotype of parents
Gametes
Possible genotypes of off spring
Possible phenotype of offspring
Co - dominance
O Co – dominance is a case where genes do
not always follow the usual dominant
/recessive rules. If two alleles are
codominant, there is no dominant allele – in
the heterozygous both alleles will be
completely expressed.
Co-dominance
O Co dominance is often seen in flowers.
Often the colour red is dominant over
the colour white.
O So if a homozygous red flowering plant is
crossed with a homozygous white
flowering plant, the plants that results
will be pink.
R = red flowers
R = white flowers
Phenotype of parents Red antirrhinums White
antirrhinums
Genotype of parents RR rr
Gametes r
R
Possible genotypes of off spring
R R
r Rr Rr
r Rr Rr
Possible phenotype of offspring
All Rr pink antirrhinums
ABO blood groups – an
example of co- dominance
O In human there is a gene that controls
the deposition of antigen markers on
blood cells .
O There are three possible alleles that you
might inherit: A, B and O.
O The O allele is recessive to A and B
O Two of the three alleles, the A allele and
the B allele are co – dominant.
If a couple are heterozygous for blood groups A and B, their
children could have any one of the four possible ABO blood
groups.
Inherited conditions in
humans
O Sometimes the genetic combination we
receive has more noticeable and
dramatic effects.
O In the inherited condition called albinism,
where a mutation affects a single gene,
the melanin pigment in the skin, hair and
eyes fails to develop.
O The normal allele for pigment to develop
is represented by A and is dominant. The
allele for albinism, a is recessive.
Genetic diseases
O Sometimes conditions that are passed
on in our genes can be harmful or even
lethal.
O They are called genetic disease or
genetic disorders.
O When a baby is born with a genetic
disease, it is an example of a congenital
defect – damage that is present at birth.
O Example sickle cell anaemia
Sickle cell anaemia
O HH – normal alleles – healthy person
O hh – mutant allele – sickler
O Hh – sickle cell trait – carrier (resistant to
malaria)
Sex determination
O Sex is determined by your
chromosomes.
O In females there are two X
chromosomes (XX)
O Males have a X and Y chromosome (XY)
Sex-linked inheritance
O Some genes are found on the sex
chromosomes.
O These genes are found on the X
chromosome are inherited.
O These are called sex – linked traits.
O How ever because in males (XY) some
parts of the X chromosome do not have
corresponding genes on the Y
chromosome, alleles here are always
expressed in the male, even if they are
recessive.
Example, colour blindness
O Colour blindness is caused by a
recessive allele that cause a person to
have abnormal colour vision.
What are the possible genotypes and phenotypes for the off
spring of a colour blind man and a heterozygous woman?
C = normal vision
c = colour blind
Phenotype of parents Colour Heterozygous
blind carrier mother
father
Genotype of parents XcY XCXc
Gametes Xc Y XC Xc
Possible off spring genotypes XC Xc
Xc XC Xc Xc Xc
Y XC Y Xc Y
Possible offspring phenotype XCXc = carrier female
XcXc = colour–blind
female
XCY = normal male
XcY = colour – blind male
B
A
A1 B1
A1
B1
C1
C1
Observations from sex-linked
crosses
O A man can never pass a sex-linked trait to
his son.
O Males are never carriers of a sex-linked
disease – they either have the disease or
not.
O Women may be carriers of the disease –
carriers have the gene but not the sickness
since they have the dominant normal allele,
O All the daughters of a man who has a sex –
linked disease will be carriers except if the
mother has the gene too, in which case the
daughter may get the full blown disease.
Haemophilia
O Haemophilia is a sex- linked condition in
which one of the proteins needed for the
clotting of the blood is missing.
O As a result, the blood does not clot
properly and without treatment, the
slightest injury or bruise can result in
heavy bleeding externally or internally
which can cause death.
