Unit 11: Basic Inheritance Flashcards
trait
a physical part of your body
gene
a region of DNA which codes for a protein
allele
one version of a gene
lower case
signifies a recessive allele
upper case
signifies a dominant allele
Aa
heterozygous
a carrier of the recessive trait
AA
homozygous dominant
aa
homozygous recessive
genotype
a list of your genes
example: Aa
phenotype
the trait you have
pedigree
a family tree
dominant
an allele which appears in every generation; just one of these alleles is enough to give you the trait
recessive
an allele which can skip generations; you’d need two of these alleles to have the trait.
P generation
the parents
F1 generation
the children
F2 generation
the grandchildren
X dominant inheritance
women affected more than men. Fathers pass it to daughters, no to sons
X recessive inheritance
Usually only boys affected. Mothers are carriers
Y linked
Only males affected
Early onset
the disease or the trait shows up early in life, before the person reproduces. Example: color blindness
Late onset
the disease or trait shows up late in life, after the person reproduces. Example: baldness
symbol on a pedigree: square
male
symbol on a pedigree: circle
female