Inheritance Flashcards
Define gene
A sequence of DNA that codes for a polypeptide and which occupies a specific locus on a chromosome.
Define allele
a variant nucleotide sequence for a particular gene at a given locus which codes for an altered phenotype.
What is a locus?
a site on a chromosome
Describe the chromosomes in a diploid individual
- it has one of each chromosome from each parent, therefore one copy of each gene from each parent.
- if the genes are the same from both parents the individual is homozygous, but if they’re different they are heterozygous.
What is the genotype of an individual?
All the alleles they contain.
What is the phenotype off an individual?
The characteristics displayed by the individual- their appearance but also features that can’t be seen like their blood group.
The genotype and the environment determine the characteristics of an individual so the phenotype is best thought of as an expression of the genotype in a specific environment.
When an allele is always expressed if present it is described as…
dominant
When an allele is only expressed when it is homozygous it is described as…
recessive
Define monohybrid inheritance.
The inheritance of a single gene, such as that controlling plant height or seed colour.
Gregor Mendel conducted his experiments using garden peas, why was this a good plant choice?
- they’re easy to grow
- the flowers can self and cross fertilise
- they make flowers and fruit in the same year
- they make large numbers of seed from each cross- this makes their numbers statistically significant
Gregor Mendel conducted his experiments using garden peas and observed the characteristic of height and round/wrinkled seeds to study, why was this a good choice?
These characteristics are…
- controlled by single genes
- controlled by genes on different chromosomes
- clear-cut and easy to tell apart
A diagram of genetic cross shows…
- the generation- F1 or F2
- the genotypes of parents and their offspring
- the phenotypes of parents and their offspring
- alleles present in the gametes
- the symbols for the alleles are defined
What do F1 and F2 stand for?
F1- first filial generation- the offspring of the parents of the cross
F2- second filial generation- the offspring of the members of the F1 generation
What does filial mean?
relating to a son or daughter
Define test back/back cross.
A cross between an individual with the phenotype of the dominant characteristic, but unknown genotype, with an individual that is homozygous recessive for the gene in question.
Why is a test cross done?
If an organism has a dominant characteristic it could be homozygous dominant or heterozygous. The test cross shows if a dominant characteristic is determined by one or two of the alleles.
What is co-dominance?
When genes are co-dominant both alleles in a heterozygote are expressed individually.
Give two examples of Co-dominance.
Example 1:
Chickens with white feathers and those with black can produce speckled offspring as neither allele is dominant.
Example 2:
In the human ABO blood group system the I gene has three alleles IA, IB and IO. Two homozygous parents, one with the genotype IAIA and one with the genotype IBIB can have offspring with the genotype IAIB on their red blood cells so that they are blood group AB. This means they have both A and B antigens on their red blood cells, which is an example of co-dominance.
What is incomplete dominance?
For some genes the phenotype of the heterozygous is an intermediate between the two parental phenotypes, rather than them both being expressed individually.
Give an example of incomplete dominance.
When white-flowered carnations are crossed with red flowered carnations their F1 generation has pink flowers. This is incomplete dominance.
When completing a punnet square when incomplete dominance is applied what symbols are used?
Neither allele is dominant so they are not given an upper case and lower case letter, instead they have a symbol as follows…
C^R for red
C^W for white
(in terms of carnations)
What is mendel’s first law of inheritance?
The law of segregation- the characteristics of an organism are determined by factors (alleles), which occur in pairs. Only one pair is present in each gamete.
Define independent assortment.
Either of a pair of homogenous chromosomes moves to either pole at anaphase I of meiosis, independently of the chromosomes of other homologous pairs.
What is dihybrid inheritance?
The simultaneous inheritance of two unlinked genes i.e. genes on different chromosomes.
If one plant is dominant for two characteristics that are unlinked like RRYY and the other is homozygous recessive rryy then what gametes are produced by the parents?
What would be the genotype produced by these gametes?
If you then bred using the the F1 generation what gametes would be produced by this generation?
For RRYY the gamete is RY
For rryy the gamete is ry
Only one genotype would be produced from a cross between these two…
RrYy
The gametes of the F1 generation would be…
RY, Ry, rY, ry
How do you calculate progeny?
The total number is divided by the number of homozygous recessive individuals.
What phenotypic ratio would arise from a dihybrid cross of two individuals heterozygous for both genes?
9:3:3:1
What is Mendel’s second law of inheritance?
Either one of a pair of contrasted characters may combine with either of another pair- each member of a pair of alleles may combine randomly with either of another pair on a different chromosome.
Describe a dihybrid test cross and what it does.
- The dihybrid test cross tests a genotype by crossing it with a with an individual that is recessive for both genes.
- The ratios of phenotypes in the progeny indicate the genotype of the parent.
What is meant when alleles are said to be linked?
The alleles of two genes that are on the same chromosome cannot segregate independently i.e. they cannot move to opposite poles of the cell at meiosis, they must move together being on the same physical structure.
What is meant by when a combination of characteristics is described as parental?
When certain traits occur together due to linkage.
What can allow for alleles that were on the same chromosome to be separated/swapped?
Crossing over
What impacts the chance of crossing over.
- Crossing over is a rare event and does not happen in most cells.
- The further apart two genes are on a chromosome the more opportunity there is for crossover to occur between them.
- This leads to more recombinant gametes and therefore more offspring with recombinant phenotypes.
If the number of progeny with different combinations of characteristics do not correspond to Mendelian ratios what is likely about the genes involved?
The genes are linked.
How can the crossover value be calculated?
(number of recombinants/number of progeny) x 100
Why are chi^2 tests used?
To test if the numbers of different phenotypes are close enough to predict the values to supports the genetic explanation of how they arose. If the numbers are not close enough the test tells us they have arisen for another reason.
What is the null hypothesis in statistical tests?
It is a statement that there is no difference between the observed and expected results of a cross. In genetics a null hypothesis states that the observed results are due to Mendelian inheritance and that any deviation from it is due to chance.
Mendelian inheritance is based on there being no difference in…
- the number of different types of gametes
- the probability of each gamete type fusing with another type of gamete
- the viability of the embryos, whatever their genotype
- that the genes are not linked
How do you calculate X^2?
X^2 = Σ((O-E)^2/E)
In the following formula…
X^2 = Σ((O-E)^2/E)
What does E stand for and what does O stand for?
O - observed value
E - expected value based off the mendelian ratio
How doe you determine E in the following formula?
X^2 = Σ((O-E)^2/E)
The total number of organisms split into the ratio 9:3:3:1.
What are degrees of freedom?
- This is a measure of the number of values that can vary independently.
- In the analysis of monohybrid and dihybrid crosses it is one less than the number of classes of data.