Inheritance Flashcards
Inherited
a quality, characteristic, or predisposition derived genetically from one’s parents or ancestors.
Genetic trait
traits are characteristics about humans and other living organisms that can be described or measured
- Simple inheritance
the inheritance of traits controlled by a single gene with two alleles, one of which may be completely dominant to the other
- Chromosome
threadlike structures made of protein and a single molecule of DNA that serve to carry the genomic information from cell to cell
DNA
the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and functioning of an organism
Mendel
ovum
an egg cell, crucial for sexual reproduction in animals and some plants. produced in the ovaries.
Sperm
the male reproductive cells, carry genetic material (DNA) from the male to the female, enabling fertilization and the creation of a new individual.
- Fertilization
when a sperm cell successfully penetrates and fuses with an egg cell, resulting in a zygote, which is the first cell of a new individual
X chromosome
one of the two sex chromosomes, plays a crucial role in sex determination of female and contains genes important for various biological processes.
Y Chromosome
associated with male sex determination and development, including male fertility male-specific health conditions and diseases.
Variation
the occurrence of an organism in more than one distinct colour or form
Gene
the basic physical and functional unit of heredity, made up of sequences of DNA, contains instructions for making proteins, which are needed for the body to function.
Allele
each of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome.
Homozygous
an individual possessing two identical alleles (versions) of a particular gene, meaning they inherited the same genetic code for that trait from both parents.
Heterozygous
having two different versions (alleles) of a gene at a particular location on a chromosome, inherited from each parent.
- Dominant
a relationship between two versions (alleles) of a gene, where one allele (the dominant allele) masks or overrides the effect of the other allele (the recessive allele) in determining an organism’s traits
Recessive
relating to or denoting heritable characteristics controlled by genes which are expressed in offspring only when inherited from both parents.
Genotype
their unique sequence of DNA, the two forms a person has inherited from their mother and father, for a particular gene.
Phenotuype
the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
- Punnett Square
a diagram used in genetics to predict the possible genotypes and phenotypes of offspring in a cross based on maternal alleles andpaternal alleles
