Inheritance

Introduction :
 Inheritance is the passing of traits from parents to offspring.
 Genetics is the science that study inheritance and variation in living
organisms.
 Mendel was the first person to study inheritance. He chose pea
plants to work on. Peas were an ideal choice because of the following :
1. __________________________________________.
2. __________________________________________.
3. __________________________________________.
4. __________________________________________.
 He studied seven traits, each of which has two contrasting varieties.

 Mendel started his experiment by pure-breeding plants, these are,

plants which when self fertilized produce identical offspring generation
after another
Mendel experiments :
 Mendel selected two pure-breeding plants with alternative varieties of
a particular trait
( one pure tall and the other pure short plant ).
 He carried cross-pollination between them.
 He collected the seeds resulted and grew them to give
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 the first-generation offspring ( F1 )
 He carried a self pollination for F1 plants and collected
the seeds, and grew them to give F2 generation.
What results he got?
1. Only one of the traits appeared at F1 generation and the other
trait disappeared.
2. The trait that appeared at F1 reappeared at F2 in larger
proportion.
3. The trait that disappeared at F1 appeared at F2 in smaller
proportion.
Note : Mendel repeated his experiment on other traits and every
time he got the same results.
How Mendel explained these results?
 He called the trait that appeared in F1 generation  Dominant trait.
[ tallness is dominant ]
 He called the trait that disappeared in F1 generation Recessive
trait. [ shortness is recessive ]
 Every trait is controlled by 2 factors ( alleles ).
 Gametes contain only one allele, because alleles segregate into
different gametes during meiosis.
 Factor of the dominant trait represented by capital letter. [ T : is
the factor for tallness ]
 Factor of the recessive trait represented by small letter. [ t : is the
factor for dwarf ]
 An organism that has two similar alleles known as Homozygous (
TT,tt )
 An organism that has two different alleles known as heterozygous (
Tt )

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 Dominant allele : an allele which has the same effect on the
phenotype of an organism weather the organism is homozygous or
heterozygous for the gene.
 Recessive alleles : alleles which only shows in the phenotype when
no dominant allele is present.
So Mendel put his first law of inheritance ( Law of segregation ) :
Characteristics of an organism are determined by
alleles which occur in pairs
Only one allele can be present in a single gamete.
For the previous example :
 Tall plant contained 2 dominant alleles TT
 Short plant contained 2 recessive alleles tt.
 When they were crossed, each plant formed gametes, so :
alleles segregate into different gametes
 The tall plant gave two similar gametes __T__ and ___T__.
 The short plant gave two similar gametes gametes t t
__t__ and ___t__. T Tt Tt
T Tt Tt
 We can represent the different possible
combinations of gametes using Punnette square.
 All F1 were heterozygous Tt.
 In a heterozygous organism the dominant allele T masks the effect of
the recessive allele t
so all plants appears Tall.
TT  homozygous dominant. tall
Tt  heterozygous dominant ( coz. T masks t ).
tall
tt  homozygous recessive. Short

Genotypes phenotypes

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Genotype : the alleles that an individual has (Gene make up of the
organism )
Phenotype : the way the alleles are expressed in the individual ( the
physical appearance of the organism )

Phenotype results from interaction of the genotype and the

environment.

Monohybrid inheritance :
 Is the cross between two individuals to study the inheritance of a
single characteristic, one gene. ( Here 2 alleles are involved ).

What is the result of crossing a homozygous tall plant and a homozygous

short plant.
phenotype Homozygous tall X Homozygous short
Genotype ______ X ______

Gametes
At fertilization
Game
tes

What is the result of crossing of two heterozygous tall plants.

phenotype ______________ X ______________
Genotype ______ X ______

Gametes

Game At fertilization

tes

If a purple colored pea plant crossed with a white colored. All F1 were
purple.

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1. Which trait is the dominant ? ___________ . recessive? ____________.
2. Explain your answer in Q1 ?
___________________________________________________.
3. What is the genotype of the purple plant ? ____. of the white plant ?
_____.
4. What is the genotype of the F1 plants ? _______.
5. If two F1 plants were crossed, what will be the result? Calculate the
ratio of colors.
phenotype ______________ X ______________
Genotype ______ X ______

Gametes
At fertilization
Game
tes

A tall pea plant was crossed with a short one. Half F1 were tall, and half
short. What is the genotype of both parents?

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______________________________

In pea plants, the allele for yellow seeds is dominant to the allele of green
seeds. Predict the genotypic ratio of offspring produced by crossing two
parents heterozygous for this trait.

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_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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 _____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
______________________________

If a two yellow seeds pea plant were crossed, the results were as
following : 298 yellow seeds plant. 99 green seeds plant.

1. What is the most probably dominant trait ? ___________ recessive

trait ? ____________ .
2. What is the expected genotype of the parents ? _______________ .
 Complete the following crossings :
Parents Offspring
TT X
TT
TT X
Tt
TT X
tt
Tt X
Tt
Tt X
tt
tt X tt

Test cross :
Complete :
- Recessive trait has one genotype, so it is always
___________________________.
- Dominant trait can be _______________________ or
______________________.

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 - ex : short plant is always ________ , but tall plant can be ______ or
_____.
How can we tell if a tall pea plant is homo- or heterozygous ?
Test cross : is a cross carried to tell whether the dominant trait is
homozygous or heterozygous.
By crossing it with a recessive one.
1. If all offspring are dominant the tested organism is homozygous
( pure )
2. If 50% dominant and 50% recessive : it is heterozygous ( impure )
If black coat colour is dominant over white in guinea pigs. How to tell
whether a black colored guinea pig is homozygous or heterozygous ?

Monohybrid cross in human :

 Cystic fibrosis :
Genoty Phenoty
Is an inherited disease caused by recessive allele
pe pe
c. CC Normal
So the person that has two recessive alleles Cc carrier
cc sufferer
shows the trait.
Carrier is the heterozygous person who does not suffer the disease
but may pass the defective allele on to their child.
What is the probability to have cystic fibrosis child if both parents were
carriers?
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 Huntington`s disease
Genoty Phenoty
Is an inherited disease caused by dominant
pe pe
allele H . so it is enough for a person to show HH sufferer
the disease to have one allele only. Hh sufferer
hh normal
And the normal person is hh.

What is the probability to have child with Huntington disease if both parents
are heterozygous sufferers?
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Compare between the inheritance of cystic fibrosis and

Huntington disease in human.

Cystic fibrosis Huntington`s

disease
Caused by
Sufferer person
Carrier
Heterozygous
person

Incomplete dominance:

 In this type of inheritance the two alleles of the gene are equally
dominant, and so they are both expressed in the heterozygous
genotype.
 Example on incomplete dominant is the inheritance of blood types in
human
 In human there are 4 different blood groups : A , B , AB , O
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 Blood group is determined by 3 alleles ( IA , IB , i )
 Both IA and IB are dominant over i . but none of the IA and IB dominate
over the other.

Genotype Phenotype
IA IA, IAi A
IB IB , IBi B
IA IB AB
ii O

Find out the result of the following crosses

 AB male with O female
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 A male with AB female
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Sex determination :
 In human each body ( somatic ) cell contains 46 chromosomes. These
chromosomes occur in homologous pairs. There are 23 homologous
pairs of chromosomes in each human cell.
 Homologous chromosomes have the same size shape banding pattern
and the same genes in the same location.
 22 pairs of these chromosomes are identical in male and female,
these are the autosome chromosomes. Only one pair is different
between male and female. This is the sex chromosomes.
 Karyotype : arrangement of chromosomes in homologous pairs
according to their size, from the longest to the shortest. The last pair
is the sex chromosome.

Female karyotype Male karyotype

By looking for karyotype we can know :

1. Sex of the person.
2. Any chromosomal abnormalities in the person.

 The sex chromosome determine the sex of the person.

- Male has : 22 autosome pairs + XY.
- Female has : 22 autosome pairs + XX.
 During crossing :
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 Male X Female
XY x XX

Here the probability for having a male is 50% and female 50%.
Which chromosome is the responsible about sex determination ?

________________________________________________________________________
Which parent is responsible about sex determination ?
_____________________________________________________________________
___
What are the functions of sex chromosomes ?
1. ____________________________________.
2. ____________________________________.

Sex-linked traits :
Traits that have their genes carried on sex chromosomes are known as
sex-linked traits. The inheritance of these traits is different from the
inheritance of other traits because if the genes were carried on X
chromosome, the female has two copies of the gene and the male has
one copy. So the expression of genes differ in the two.
Examples of the sex-linked traits are : colour blindness, and haemophilia.
 color blindness is a sex-linked genetic disease. It is caused by a
recessive allele c carried on the sex chromosome. The dominant allele
C results in normal sight.

a ) fill the spaces below to show the possible genotypes of

individuals
Normal Carrier Sufferer
Male
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 Female
b ) What is the result of crossing between :
1. Normal male X colour blinded female.
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2. Colour blinded male X normal female.
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c ) explain using a chosen cross why in sex linked characters the father
never
passes six linked genes to his sons but only to his daughters.
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 d ) Explain why in sex linked characters, males have higher probability of
being affected than females.
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Meiosis and genetic variation :

There are two main ways in which genetic variation occurs at meiosis.
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1. Random segregation of chromosomes :
At the metaphase-I the pairs of homologous chromosomes arrange at
the equator of the cell.
They arrange them selves in a random order. Look at the below
diagram :

If a cell has 2 pairs of chromosomes, there are two ways in which the
chromosomes arrange at the equator of the cell. So, 4 different types
of gametes produced.
What is the role for that?
Can you work out the number of different types of gametes the human
can produce?

2. crossing over :
 During prophase-I of meiosis the homologous chromosomes come
together in pairs known as bivalents.
 Each chromosome consist of two chromatids.
 Two non-sister chromatids of the
homologous chromosomes twist
around each other and exchange
pieces ( genetic materials ) in a
process known as crossing over.
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  The site of crossing over is known as chiasmata.
 Crossing over resulted in new combination of genes and this increase
the variation between living organisms.
Terminology

 Chromosome is a coiled thread of DNA and proteins found in the

nucleus.

 All cells of the body ( except gametes ) are diploid , they contain two

sets of chromosomes.

 Gametes are sex cells ( egg and sperm ) are haploid, they contain

one set of chromosomes.

 DNA substance found in the chromosomes and carry codes for making

proteins.

 Gene the unit of inheritance, is a section of DNA which code for

making a particular protein.

 Locus is a particular position along chromosome where the gene

locates.

 Alleles are different varieties ( forms ) of a gene, which code for

different versions of the same characteristic

 Homologous chromosomes carry genes for the same characteristics

in the same position.

 Homozygous is an organism that has two similar alleles.

 Heterozygous is an organism that has two different alleles.

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 Dominant allele is an allele which has the same effect on the

phenotype of an organism weather the organism is homozygous or

heterozygous for the gene.

 Recessive allele is an allele which only shows in the phenotype

when no dominant alleles is present.

 Genotype is the alleles that an individual has (Gene make up of the

organism

 Phenotype is the way the alleles are expressed in the individual (

physical appearance ).

 Test cross is a cross carried to determine if the dominant trait is pure

or impure.

 Incomplete dominance is a type of inheritance where the two

alleles are expressed in the heterozygous.

 Sex-linked trait is the trait that has it is genes carried on the sex

chromosomes.

 Carrier is the heterozygous person who does not suffer the disease

but may pass the defective allele on to their child.

 Karyotype is the arrangement of chromosomes in homologous pairs

according to their size, from the longest to the shortest.

 Autosomes are the 22 pairs of chromosomes that are identical in

male and female.

 Sex chromosomes are the last pair of chromosomes that are

different between male and female.

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 Cross over : overlapping of two non-sister chromatids of the

homologous chromosomes and exchange of genetic materials during

prophase-I

 Chiasmata : points where crossing over occurs.

 Bivalent : a structure forms when the two homologous chromosomes

come together during prophase-I

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