GENETICS AND INHERITANCE Flashcards
What is a gene?
A gene is a specific sequence of nucleotides in DNA which codes for a specific trait
What is an allele?
An allele is a version of a gene
What is a genotype?
A genotype is all the alleles of an organism
What is a phenotype?
A phenotype is the physical expresssion of a gene (may not always be visible)
What does it mean to be homozygous?
Homozygous organism’s have identical alleles
What does it mean to be heterozygous?
Heterozygous organisms have different alleles
What is a dominant allele?
A dominant allele is an expressed trait
What is a recessive allele?
A recessive allele is a nonexpressed trait, but it still present
What does it mean to be monohybrid?
Monohybrid means heterozygous for 1 trait
What does it mean to be dihybrid?
Dihybrid means heterozygous for 2 traits
What is the “blending” hypothesis?
The “blending” hypothesis states that genetic material contributed by 2 parents mixes, just as blue paint mixes with yellow paint to make green
What does the “blending” hypothesis predict?
Over many generations, a freely mating population will give rise to a uniform population of individuals
What flaws do the “blending” hypothesis have?
It fails to explain how traits can reappear after they’ve skipped a generation
What is the “particulate” hypothesis?
The “particulate” hypothesis states that parents pass discrete heritable units called genes which retain their separate identities in offspring. A collection of genes is like a deck of cards and can be shuffles and passed along in undiluted forms from generation to generation
What 2 laws did Mendel derive?
- Law of Segregation
- Law of Independent Assortment
What does the Law of Segregation state?
The Law of Segregation states that 2 alleles for a heritable trait segregate during gamete formation and end up in different gametes, and can be explained by the segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis
What does the Law of Independent Assortment state?
The Law of Independent Assortment states that 2+ genes assort independently during gemete formation, that is, each pair of alleles segregates independently of any other pair of alleles. Only works for genes located on different chromosomes or those that are very far apart on the same chromosome
What model explains the 3:1 inheritance pattern seen across the F2 generation?
- Alternate versions of genes (alleles) account for variations in inherited characteristics
- For each character, an organism inherits 2 copies of a gene (1 from each parent)
- If 2 alleles on a locus differ, the dominant allele determines the organism’s appearance while the other has no noticible effects
- Law of Segregation
What is a testcross?
A testcross is used to reveal the genotype of an organism by breeding an organism of an unknown genotype with a recessive homozygote; any offspring with recessive phenotype means the unknown genotype must be heterozygous
RR x rr = 100% Rr
Rr x rr = 1:1 of Rr:rr
What is the phenotypic ratio for a monohybrid cross?
3:1
What is the phenotypic ratio for a dihybrid cross?
9:3:3:1
What is the multiplication rule?
The multiplication rule calculates the probability that 2+ individual events will occur together (AND)