Unit 8: Genetics And Heredity Flashcards
ABO blood type
classification of blood, based on presence or absence of antibodies, four major categories A, B, 0, and AB
Allele
one member of a pair of genes on specific chromosomes in specific positions
Aminocentesis
procedure which extracts fetal cells from the fluid surrounding the fetus, used to examine fetal chromosomes
Autosome
body chromosomes; in humans there are 44 autosomes (22 pairs) and 2 sex chromosomes XX or XY (1 pair)
Autosomal trait
any trait not dependent on the sex chromosomes
Blending theory of inheritance
the theory that offspring have a blend, or mix, of the characteristics of their parents.
Carrier
an individual that is heterozygous for a trait, they ‘carry’ the recessive allele, so that trait does not show up in the person but can be passed to their offspring
Chromosomes
a tightly wound bundle of DNA and proteins (histones) found in the nucleus
Codominance
when both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype of the heterozygote, resulting in a phenotype that shows both traits of the parents; for example a black chicken crossed with a white chicken and the chicks are black and white checked.
Color blindness
a person with this recessive X-linked trait cannot distinguish between the colors red and green
Cross pollination
pollen from one plant fertilizes an other plant of the same species
Dominant allele
A dominant allele masks the expression of other alleles, for example brown eyes are dominant over blue eyes
Dihybrid cross
the cross between two plants that investigates two traits (for example plant with yellow round seed crossed with plant with green wrinkled seeds); a cross between two organisms that are each heterozygous for two traits of interest
F1 Generation
first filial generation* - the results of the cross between the two parent plants
F2 Generation
product of crossing the first set of offspring from an initial cross of parent organisms
Gametes
the reproductive cells: egg (female) or sperm (male)
Genetically modified organisms (GMO)
the reproductive cells: egg (female) or sperm (male)
Gene therapy
the introduction of cloned genes into living cells to replace an abnormal, disease-causing gene
Genetics
the science of heredity
Genome
total of all DNA sequences in a cell or organism; in humans it consists of approximately 3 billion base pairs, divided into thousands of genes on 23 pairs of chromosomes