Genetic Diagrams Flashcards
What do your genes inherit?
What your genes inherit control what characteristics develop
What do different genes control?
Different characteristics
Some characteristics are controlled by a single gene
Mouse fur-colour
red-green colour blindness in humans
What are most characteristics controlled by?
Several genes interacting
Define an allele
All genes exist in different versions
What are allele represented by?
Letters
What do you have at every gene in your body?
Two alleles - one on each chromosome in a pair
Define ‘homozygous’
An organism that has two alleles for a particular gene that are the same
Define ‘heterozygous’
An organism that has two alleles for a particular gene that are different.
How do you know whether an allele is dominant or recessive?
If two alleles are different only one can determine what characteristics is present
Define the term ‘dominant allele’
The allele for the characteristics that’s shown as a capital letter - C
Define the term ‘recessive allele’
The other allele is shown as a lower case - c
What letter is used for dominant alleles?
Capital letter, B
What letter is used for recessive alleles?
Lower case letters, b
What do organisms require to display a recessive characteristic?
Both its alleles must be recessive, cc
What do organisms require to display a dominant characteristic?
The organism can either be CC or Cc, due to the dominant allele overrules the recessive one if the plant/animal/other organism is heterozygous.
