B5.1 Inheritance Flashcards
Variation
Differences within species
Caused by mutations in genetic code
Examples of variation
Height
Build
Eye colour
Hair colour
Blood group
Language
2 causes of variation within species
Genetics
Environment
How variation of a characteristic displayed can be further categorised
Continuous vs discontinuous variation
Discontinuous variation
Variation that produces distinct categories:
Eye colour
Blood group
Gender
Continuous variation
Variation that cannot be placed in distinct categories and instead produces a spectrum:
Height
Weight
Skin colour
What type of variation will human body mass display
Continuous
Asexual reproduction
Offspring is clone of parent
No gamete fusion
Only 1 parent required
Examples of organisms that can replicate asexually
Potato plants
Stawberries
Spider plants
Bacteria
Mushrooms
Daffodils
How does asexual reproduction take place
Mitosis
Only 1 parent needed
Identical clone produced
Sexual reproduction
Requiring two parents
Genetic information taken from both parents
Organisms produce haploid gametes that fuse during fertilisation
Offspring not identical / clone of parents
Results in variation
Advantage and disadvantage of sexual reproduction
+
Variation in offspring leads to adaptation in a species
This results in some organisms within a species containing adaptations that allow them to cope with an environmental pressue.
These organisms can reproduce, enabling the species/population to survive.
-
Reproduction requires two parents.
Reproduction is slowers, so few offspring are produced in a given time
Advantage and disadvantage of asexual reproduction
+
If the parent was well adapted to an area then the offspring will share an identical set of characteristics
Only one parent is needed - animals do not need to find a partner, plants do not require pollination
Faster, so large numbers of offspring are produced quickly
-
Adverse changes to the biotic or abiotic factors may destroy the species, as all organisms affected due to there being no variation
Gamete
Sex cell
Haploid cell used in sexual reproduction
Sperm & egg
Pollen & ovule
Chromosome
Tightly packaged DNA,
wrapped around histone proteins
Gene
Section of DNA that can (but not always) code for a protein
Allele
Different versions of same gene
Eg. blue eyes vs. green eyes
Dominant allele
Version of a gene where only one copy is required for it to be expressed in the organisms phenotype
Recessive allele
Version of a gene where two copies are required for it to be expressed in the organisms phenotype
Pure breeding
Organism is homozygous for a characteristic
What is meant when an organism is homozygous
When an organism has 2 copies of the same allele (either both dominant or both recessive)