MULTIPLE ALLELES It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to continue if we don't know what the word "allele" means.

allele = (n) a form of a gene which codes for one possible outcome of a phenotype For example, in Mendel's pea investigations, he found that there was a gene that determined the color of the pea pod. One form of it (one allele) creates yellow pods, & the other form (allele) creates green pods. Get it? Two possible phenotypes of one trait (pod color) are determined by two alleles (forms) of the one "color" gene.

SOME BACKGROUND When the gene for one trait exists as only two alleles & the alleles play according to Mendel's Law of Dominance, there are 3 possible genotypes (combination of alleles) & 2 possible phenotypes (the dominant one or the recessive one). Using the pea pod trait as an example, the possibilities are like so: GENOTYPES Homozygous Dominant (YY) Heterozygous (Yy) Homozygous Recessive (yy)

RESULTING PHENOTYPE Yellow Yellow Green

where Y = the dominant allele for yellow & y = the recessive allele for green If there are only two alleles involved in determining the phenotype of a certain trait, but there are three possible phenotypes, then the inheritance of the trait illustrates either incomplete dominance or codominance.

In these situations a heterozygous (hybrid) genotype produces a 3rd phenotype that is either a blend of the other two phenotypes (incomplete dominance) or a mixing of the other phenotypes with both appearing at the same time (codominance). Here's an example with Incomplete Dominance: GENOTYPES BB = Homozygous Black BW = Heterozygous WW = Homozygous White where B = allele for black & W = allele for white And here's an example with Codominance: GENOTYPES BB = Homozygous Black BW = Heterozygous WW = Homozygous White where B = allele for black & W = allele for white

RESULTING PHENOTYPE Black Fur Grey Fur White Fur

RESULTING PHENOTYPE Black Fur Black & White Fur White Fur

THE DEALS ON MULTIPLE ALLELES Now, if there are 4 or more possible phenotypes for a particular trait, then more than 2 alleles for that trait must exist in the population. We call this "MULTIPLE ALLELES". Let me stress something. There may be multiple alleles within the population, but individuals have only two of those alleles. Why?

Because individuals have only two biological parents. We inherit half of our genes (alleles) from ma, & the other half from pa, so we end up with two alleles for every trait in our phenotype. An excellent example of multiple allele inheritance is human blood type. Blood type exists as four possible phenotypes: A, B, AB, & O. There are 3 alleles for the gene that determines blood type. (Remember: You have just 2 of the 3 in your genotype --- 1 from mom & 1 from dad). The alleles are as follows: ALLELE IA IB i CODES FOR Type "A" Blood Type "B" Blood Type "O" Blood

Notice that, according to the symbols used in the table above, that the allele for "O" (i) is recessive to the alleles for "A" & "B". With three alleles we have a higher number of possible combinations in creating a genotype. GENOTYPES RESULTING PHENOTYPES IAIA Type A IAi Type A IBIB IBi IAIB ii Notes: As you can count, there are 6 different genotypes & 4 different phenotypes for blood type. Note that there are two genotypes for both "A" & "B" blood --- either homozygous (IAIAor IBIB) or heterozygous with one recessive allele for "O" (IAi or IBi). Note too that the only genotype for "O" blood is homozygous recessive (ii). And lastly, what's the deal with "AB" blood? What is this an example of? The "A" trait & the "B" trait appear together in the phenotype. Think think think .... {ANSWER} Type B Type B Type AB Type O

SAMPLE QUESTIONS Let me inform you that in my time teaching this fabulous subject of biology & this incredibly fun unit on genetics, the only multiple allele questions I have ever seen have been about the human blood type trait. So included here, for your academic pleasure, are some examples of these types of questions. Work out the problems on paper & then click to see the solutions. (I realize that paper is old-fashioned in the world o' internet, but I haven't become technically savvy enough to do it any other way .... yet.) 1. A woman with Type O blood and a man who is Type AB have are expecting a child. What are the possible blood types of the kid? {answer} 2. What are the possible blood types of a child who's parents are both heterozygous for "B" blood type? {answer} 3. What are the chances of a woman with Type AB and a man with Type A having a child with Type O? {answer} 4. Determine the possible genotypes & phenotypes with respect to blood type for a couple who's blood types are homozygous A & heterozygous B. {answer} 5. Jill is blood Type O. She has two older brothers (who tease her like crazy) with blood types A & B. What are the genotypes of her parents with respect to this trait? {answer} 6. A test was done to determine the biological father of a child. The child's blood Type is A and the mother's is B. Dude #1 has a blood type of O, & dude #2 has blood type AB. Which dude is the biological father? {answer}

*Any of a set of three or more alleles, or alternative states of a gene, only two of which can be present in a diploid
organism.

Chromosomes X and Y and Sex Determination

In a human, the normal chromosomes complement is 46, 44 of which areautosomes while 2 distinct chromosomes are deemed sex chromosomes, which determine the sex of an organism and various sex linked characteristics. In most animals, those who possess XX chromosomes are female while male animals possess an X and a Y chromosome. However, this is not true of all organisms, as it can be reversed in some species.

Sex Determination
A humans' sex is predetermined in the sperm gamete. The egg gamete mother cell is said to be homogametic, because all its cell possess the XX sex chromosomes. sperm gametes are deemedheterogametic because around half of them contain the X chromosome and others possess the Y chromosome to compliment the first X chromosome. In light of this, there are two possibilities that can occur during fertilisation between male and female gametes, XX and XY. Since sperm are the variable factor (i.e. which sperm fertilises the egg) they are responsible for determining sex.

Chromosomes X and Y
Chromosomes X and Y do not truly make up a homologous pair. They act similarly in their roles, but they are not homologous (the same). The X chromosome in humans is much longer than the Y chromosome and also contains many more genes. These genes are said to be sex linked, due to the fact they are present in one of the sex chromosomes. During fertilisation, when the opposing homologous chromosomes come together, the smaller Y chromosome offers no dominance against the 'extra' X chromosomes as indicated below.

The arrows indicate sex linked genes in the X chromosome. In this homologous pairing, all those genes are dominant, because there are no opposing genes in the Y chromosome to offer dominance. So when the organism has an XY chromosome compliment (i.e. a male), these sex linked genes are freely expressed in the organismsphenotype, an example being hairy ears developing in old age.

Sex Linked Characteristics

These sex linked genes on the X chromosome display a number of characteristics. The following are just some examples of phenotypes as a result of these genes in expression;

Red-Green colour blindness Haemophilia - A condition which prevents the clotting of the blood Hairy ears in men through advancing age

More information on sex linked characteristics and how they are passed on from generation to generation will be available in new areas of the site soon. The next page looks at genetic mutations and the consequences as a result of them.