3.4 Inheritance Flashcards
Who was Gregor Mendel?
Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk who developed the principles of inheritance by performing experiments on pea plants
What was his first experiment?
First, he crossed different varieties of purebred pea plants, then collected and grew the seeds to determine their characteristics
What did he do with the F1 generation?
Next, he crossed the offspring with each other (self-fertilization) and grew their seeds to similarly determine their characteristics
How many times did mendel perform his experiments?
These crosses were performed many times to establish reliable data trends (over 5,000 crosses were performed)
What did Mendel find out about breeding purebred varieties?
When he crossed two different purebred varieties together the results were not a blend – only one feature would be expressed
E.g. When purebred tall and short pea plants were crossed, all offspring developed into tall growing plants
What did Mendel find out regarding self-fertilisation?
When Mendel self-fertilised the offspring, the resulting progeny expressed the two different traits in a ratio of ~ 3:1
E.g. When the tall growing progeny were crossed, tall and short pea plants were produced in a ratio of ~ 3:1
What did Mendel find out about genes?
Organisms have discrete factors that determine its features (these ‘factors’ are now recognised as genes)
What did Mendel find out about alleles?
Furthermore, organisms possess two versions of each factor (these ‘versions’ are now recognised as alleles)
What did Mendel find out about gametes?
Each gamete contains only one version of each factor (sex cells are now recognised to be haploid)
What did Mendel find out about parental contribution?
Parents contribute equally to the inheritance of offspring as a result of the fusion between randomly selected egg and sperm
What did Mendel find out about dominant/recessive?
For each factor, one version is dominant over another and will be completely expressed if present
What are Mendel’s 3 rules?
- Law of Segregation
- Law of Independent Assortment
- Principle of Dominance
What is the law of segregation?
Law of Segregation: When gametes form, alleles are separated so that each gamete carries only one allele for each gene
What is the law of independent assortment?
The segregation of alleles for one gene occurs independently to that of any other gene*
The law of principle dominance?
Recessive alleles will be masked by dominant alleles†
What is the exception to the law of independent assortment?
The law of independent assortment does not hold true for genes located on the same chromosome (i.e. linked genes)
What is the exception to the principle of dominance?
Not all genes show a complete dominance hierarchy – some genes show co-dominance or incomplete dominance
What are gametes?
Gametes are haploid sex cells formed by the process of meiosis – males produce sperm and females produce ova
What happens to homologous chromosomes in meiosis I?
During meiosis I, homologous chromosomes are separated into different nuclei prior to cell division
What does the separation of homologous chromosomes also segregate?
As homologous chromosomes carry the same genes, segregation of the chromosomes also separates the allele pairs
What do gametes carry?
Consequently, as gametes contain only one copy of each chromosome they therefore carry only one allele of each gene
What are gametes categorised as?
Gametes are haploid, meaning they only possess one allele for each gene
What will occur when gametes fuse, due to them being haploid?
When male and female gametes fuse during fertilisation, the resulting zygote will contain two alleles for each gene
What is the exception for gametes fusing and producing a zygote with two alleles for EACH GENE?
Males have only one allele for each gene located on a sex chromosome, as these chromosomes aren’t paired (XY)
What does it mean if offspring is homozygous for a gene?
If the maternal and paternal alleles are the same, the offspring is said to be homozygous for that gene
What does it mean if offspring is heterozygous for a gene?
If the maternal and paternal alleles are different, the offspring is said to be heterozygous for that gene
What does it mean if offspring is hemizygous for a gene?
Males only have one allele for each gene located on a sex chromosome and are said to be hemizygous for that gene
What is the genotype?
The gene composition (i.e. allele combination) for a specific trait is referred to as the genotype
What can the genotype be categorised as?
The genotype of a particular gene will typically be either homozygous or heterozygous
What is the phenotype?
The observable characteristics of a specific trait (i.e. the physical expression) is referred to as the phenotype
What determines the phenotype?
The phenotype is determined by both the genotype and environmental influences
What is complete dominance?
Most traits follow a classical dominant / recessive pattern of inheritance, whereby one allele is expressed over the other
What allele is expressed in a heterozygous individual?
The dominant allele will mask the recessive allele when in a heterozygous state
Can homozygous dominant and heterozygous be distinguished in terms of phenotype?
Homozygous dominant and heterozygous forms will be phenotypically indistinguishable
When will the recessive allele be expressed?
The recessive allele will only be expressed in the phenotype when in a homozygous state
What allele is capitalised?
When representing alleles, the convention is to capitalise the dominant allele and use a lower case letter for the recessive allele
An example of this mode of inheritance is mouse coat colour – black coats (BB or Bb) are dominant to brown coats (bb)
What is codominance?
Co-dominance occurs when pairs of alleles are both expressed equally in the phenotype of a heterozygous individual
What genotype is different, due to co-dominance?
Heterozygotes therefore have an altered phenotype as the alleles are having a joint effect
How are codominant alleles written?
When representing alleles, the convention is to use superscripts for the different co-dominant alleles (recessive still lower case)
An example of co-dominance is feathering in chickens – black (CB) and white (CW) feathers create a speckled coat (CBCW)
How can human red blood cells be categorised?
Human red blood cells can be categorised into different blood groups based on the structure of a surface glycoprotein (antigen)
What are the ABO blood groups controlled by?
The ABO blood groups are controlled by a single gene with multiple alleles (A, B, O)
What do all the ABO alleles produce?
The A, B and O alleles all produce a basic antigen on the surface of red blood cells
Which blood group alleles are co-dominant?
The A and B alleles are co-dominant and each modify the structure of the antigen to produce different variants
Which blood group allele is recessive?
The O allele is recessive and does not modify the basic antigenic structure
What letters are used to represent the blood group alleles?
When representing blood group alleles, the letter I is used to represent the different antigenic forms (isoantigens)
A allele = IA ; B allele = IB ; O allele = i (recessive)
What do different blood groups, therefore, imply about transfusions?
As humans produce antibodies against foreign antigens, blood transfusions are not compatible between certain blood groups
From what groups can an individual with blood group AB receive?
AB blood groups can receive blood from any other type (as they already possess both antigenic variants on their cells)
From what groups can an individual with blood group A receive?
A blood groups cannot receive B blood or AB blood (as the isoantigen produced by the B allele is foreign)
From what groups can an individual with blood group B receive?
B blood groups cannot receive A blood or AB blood (as the isoantigen produced by the A allele is foreign)
From what groups can an individual with blood group O receive?
O blood groups can only receive transfusions from other O blood donor (both antigenic variants are foreign)
What does a monohybrid cross determine?
A monohybrid cross determines the allele combinations for potential offspring for one gene only
What is the first step of carrying out a monohybrid cross?
Step 1: Designate letters to represent alleles (dominant = capital letter ; recessive = lower case ; co-dominant = superscript)
What is the second step of calculating a monohybrid cross, after designating letters?
Step 2: Write down the genotype and phenotype of the prospective parents (this is the P generation)