Chapter 2 - Fundamental genetics Flashcards
Dichotomous traits
occur in one form or the other, never in combination (brown or white seeds)
True-breeding lines
breeding lines in which interbred memebers always produce offspring with the same trait, generation after generation
Dominant trait
appeared in all of the first-generation offspring
Recessive trait
appeared in one quarter of the second generation offspring.
Phenotype
an organism’s observable traits
Genotype
the trait that it can pass on to its offspring through its genetic material
Four imporant ideas of Mendal (his theory)
- There are two kinds of inherited factors for each dichotomous trait (brown vs. white)
- Each organism possesses two genes for each of its dichotomous traits (AB for example)
- One of the two kinds of genes for each dichotomous traits dominates the other in heterozygous organisms (A stronger than B)
- For each dichotomous trait, each organism randomly inherits one of its father’s two factors and one from its mother’s to factors.
What is a gene?
An inherited factor
Allele
Two genes that control for the same trait (could be AA or AB or BB)
Homozygous vs. Heterozygous
Homozygous: two identical genes for a trait (AA) and heterozygous: two different genes for a trait (A and B)
Chromosomes
-thredlike strctures in the nucleus of the cell
- occur in pairs
- humans have 23
Meiosis
the process of cell division that produces games (egg cells and sperm cells)
Zygote
A fertilized egg - when a sperm cell and egg cell combine during fertilization
Stages of the Meiosis (regarding the book)
- The chromosomes line up in pairs
- Genetic recombination
Genetic recombination
the members of each pair cross over one another at random points, break apart at the point of contact, and exchange sections.
two ways that contribute to genetic diversity while the process of meiosis
- The random division of pairs of chromosomes into two gametes
- Genetic recombination.
Mitosis
- all other cell divisions in the body
- prior to mitotic division, the number of chromosomes double - so when the cell divides, both daughter cells end up with the full complement of chromosomes
What are the four nucleotide bases?
- Adenine
- Thymine
- Guanin
- Cytosine
What are mutations?
Errors in duplication
How does the replication work?
- the two DNA strands start to unwind
- the exposed nucleotide bases on each of the two strands attract their complementary bases
- when the unwinding is complete, two double-stranded DNA molecules have been created
Autosomal chromoses
-the typical chromoses
- come in matched pairs.