Genetics

Genetics:
o Chromosomes have:
Genes: specific segments of a chromosome code for characters
Characters: the heritable traits of an organism
Traits: specific characteristics of an organism
Allele: Different possible versions of a gene
Locus: A specific location of a gene on a chromosome
Chromosomes in Book Format:
o DNA=letters
Proteins=punctuation
o Gene=Sentence
o Chromosome=chapter/recipe
o Organism=recipe box/book
Homologous chromosomes have same genes (characters), but might have different alleles
(traits)
Appearance vs. Genes:
o Phenotype=how an organism appears
Characters & Traits
o Genotype=the actual genetics of the organism
Genes and Alleles
Ancient Geneticists
o Man has long attempted to explain inheritance
As far back as the Greeks
Pangenesis:
o Hippocrates (460-370 BCE)
o Pangenes go to sperm and eggs become the cell of the offspring
o Changes throughout life are inherited
o Wrong, but accepted till 19
th
century
Blending Hypothesis:
o Offspring are an even mix of the traits from the parents
Black Lab+White Lab=Gray Lab
Doesnt happen
Real Inheritance:
o Disappearance and reappearance of traits
o G1 Black Lab+G1 Brown Lab=G2 Black Lab
Heredity
o The transmission of traits from one generation to the next
o First person credited with studying this: Gregor Mendel (Augustian Monk)
The Pea Plant:
o Easy to control their mating
o Flower consists of:
Petals
Stamens
Carpel
Mendels Method
o Clip stamens of some flowers
o Place bag around flower
o Use brush to transfer pollen from one flower to carpel of another
o Plant peas created as a result
o Let offspring grow
o Started by Creating True-Breed plant that would only produce offspring with specific
character traits
P Generation- parental generation
o Then create Hybrids-a mix of two different varieties
F
x
generation fillia generation
X= generation number after parents
o Monohybrid Cross
Mixing of plants with only a single different trait between them
Mendels Hypothesis
o 1.
o 2. Organisms inherits 1 allele per parent
Homozygous-two of same allele
Heterozygous-two of different allele
o 3. If Heterozygous, only one allele will determine expressed character trait
Dominant: allele that is expressed (uppercase)
Recessive-allele that is not (lowercase0
o 4.
The Origin of Species
o 1859 published by Charles Darwin
o Descent with modification-Adaptation
Artificial Selection
o Mans selection of specific traits to best suit his needs
Natural Selection
o Natures selection of traits that best allow the species to survive
Darwins Observations
o Inherited variation
o Overproduction
Speciation
o When does it happen?
Still not sure
o Why?
Biological Species Concept
Morphological Species Concept
o Defined by physical appearance
Ecological Species Concept
o Defined by its role in ecosystem
Sympatric Speciation
Adaptive Radiation
o Happens right after mass extinction

Binomial Naming System
o Genus species
o