Mendelian Inheritance

Mendelian inheritance is a type of biological inheritance that adheres to the principles proposed by Gregor Mendel
in 1865 and 1866, rediscovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and popularized by William Bateson.
Gregor Mendel (1822 – 1884) was the first person to systematically study inheritance and formulate laws about
heredity.

 Mendel did several experiments on garden pea plants to study the mechanism of inheritance of characters.
 The delivery of characteristics from parent to offspring is called heredity.
 The scientific study of heredity is known as genetics.
 A trait is a specific characteristic, such as seed color or plant height of an individual plant.
 Mendel studied seven different traits of pea plants.
 Each of these seven traits had two contrasting characteristics, such as green seed color or yellow seed
color.
 Mendel crossed plants with each of the seven contrasting characteristics and then studied their offspring.
 The offspring of crosses between parents with different traits are called hybrids.
 When doing genetic crosses, we call each original pair of plants the P1or parental, generation.
 Their offspring are called the F1, or first filial, generation (Filius and filia are the Latin words for ‟son”
and ‟daughter”).
 In each cross, the nature of the other parent, with regard to each trait, seemed to have disappeared.
 From these results, Mendel drew two conclusions. His first conclusion formed the basis of our current
understanding of inheritance.

1. An individual’s characteristics are determined by factors that are passed from one parental generation to
the next’

 Today, scientists call the factors that are passed from parent to offspring genes.
 Each of the traits Mendel studied was controlled by a single gene that occurred in two contrasting
varieties.
 For example, the two contrasting genes for plant height are tall (TT) and short (tt).
 The different forms of a gene are called alleles (a gene has two alleles).

2. Dominant and Recessive Alleles. Mendel’s second conclusion is the principle of dominance.

 This principle states that some alleles are dominant and others are recessive.
 In Mendel’s experiments, the allele for tall plants was dominant and the allele for short plants was
recessive.

Mendel’s Seven F1 Crosses on Pea Plants

Contrasting Traits Genotype of Phenotype

Traits Dominant and Recessive alleles offspring of offspring
Seed shape Round (RR) & wrinkled (rr) all Rr Round
Seed color Yellow (YY) & green (yy) all Yy Yellow
Seed coat all Gg Gray
Gray GG & white (gg)
Pod shape Inflated (Dd) & constricted (Dd) all Dd Smooth
Pod color Green (GG) & yellow (gg) all Gg Green
Flower Axial (AA) & terminal (aa) all Aa Axial
position
Plant height Tall (TT) & short (tt) all Tt Tall

Using Punnett Square

Pure tall (TT)l pure short (tt) T T

t Tt Tt
t Tt Tt 1
 F1= hybrid tall == All F1 tall (hybrid tall)

Punnett Square - is a simple table that shows the possible combination of gametes of two parents.

 Punnett square uses mathematical probability to predict the genotype and phenotype combinations in
genetic crosses.
 It represents the possible genotypes of the offspring so produced, and the ratio in which they will occur.
 It was named after the English geneticist Reginald CrundalPunnett
Mendel’s Techniques
1. First, Mendel allowed self-pollination and fertilization of different lines of garden pea plants.
 He took those lines which produced the same trait (phenotype) generation after generation during
self-fertilization.
 He called these true breeders or pure breeders.
2. He then crossed pure breeders for seven contrasting characteristics. Pure tall and pure short plants, for
example, were crossed.
 For this, he removed stamens from flowers of the tall plants before maturity.
 This prevented self-pollination.
3. At flower maturity, he transferred pollen grains from flowers of short plants to the stigma of tall plants.
 He reciprocated his experiment by removing stamens from short plants and dusting them with
pollen grains from tall plants.
1. Mendel grew all seeds from F1 generation and noted the plants at maturity. All of them were tall.
 Mendel called the trait expressed in F1 as dominant, and the one masked, recessive.
 In this case tallness is dominant and shortness is recessive.
2. The F1 plants were allowed to self-pollinate, and produce seeds.
3. These seeds were collected and planted to produce F2, the second filial generation.
 The second filial generation exhibited nearly 3 dominant to 1 recessive trait in all Mendel’s
experiments (3:1).
 For example, when hybrid tall, Tt is self-pollinated, it result:

1 true-breeding dominant,
T t
2 not-true-breeding dominant and T TT Tt
t Tt tt
1 true-breeding recessive.
 F1 x F1 = F2 and the genotypic ratio is1: 2: 1and phenotypic ratio is 3: 1 and such cross is known as
monohybrid cross which considers one trait only.

 Homologous are characters having identical alleles

 Heterozygous are characters having non identical alleles
 Dominant is the expressed character
 Recessive is the hidden character
 Phenotype is the physical appearance of an organism
 Genotype is the genetic composition of an organism
 Organisms that have two identical alleles for a particular gene—TT or tt (for height) are
said to be homozygous.
 Organisms that have two different alleles for the same gene—such as Tt—are
heterozygous.

Segregation
 During gamete formation, the alleles for each gamete carry only one allele for each gene.
 Thus, each F1 plant produces two kinds of gametes—those with the tall (T) allele and those with the short
(t) allele.

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  During gamete formation, the alleles for each gene segregate (separate) from each other, so that each
gamete carries` only one allele for each gene.
 The alleles are paired up again when gametes fuse during fertilization.
 A capital letter represents a dominant and a small letter a recessive letter.
Mendel’s Laws
1. Mendel’s First Law: Dominance
2. Mendel’s Second Law: Segregation
Mendel’s Secind Law: States that only one allele specifying an alternative trait can be carried in a particular
gamete, and gametes combine randomly in forming offspring

3. Mendel’s Third Law: Independent assortment

Mendel’s Third Law: States that genes located on different chromosomes are inherited independently of one
another.

Mendel’s theories of segregation and independent assortment are so well

supported by experimental results that they are considered ‟laws.”
Test Cross
 When an individual expresses the dominant phenotype, its genotype is unknown, it can be either
heterozygous (hybrid) or homozygous.
 To determine the genotype, we must perform a test cross.
 An individual of unknown genotype is crossed with an individual having a recessive phenotype because to
express the recessive trait, the individual must be heterozygous.
A summary of Mendel’s Principles
1. The inheritance of biological characteristics is determined by individual units called genes, which are
passed from parent to offspring.
2. Where two or more forms (alleles) of the gene for a single trait exist, some alleles may be dominant and
others may be recessive.
3. In sexually reproducing organisms, each adult has two copies of each gene—one from each parent. These
genes segregate from each other when gametes are formed.
4. Alleles for different genes usually segregate independently of each other.
Dihybrid Cross
 So far, the experiments of Mendel that we have discussed involved only one trait (monohybrid).
 Mendel also made crosses that involved the inheritance patterns of two traits in a single mating. This
type of cross is termed as a dihybrid cross.

Types of Dominance: 1. Complete dominance 2, Incomplete dominance 3. Codominance

1. Complete dominance—is a situation in which one of the alleles in the pair completely masks the other
allele, and expresses itself.
Example; When pure tall (TT) crossed with pure short (tt) all offspring become tall.
2. Incomplete dominance = some alleles are neither dominant nor recessive. Cases in which one allele is not
completely dominant over another are called incomplete dominance.
 In incomplete dominance, the heterozygous phenotype lies somewhere between the two homozygous
phenotypes.
 For example: The F1 generation produced by a cross between red-flowered (RR) and white flowered
(WW) Mirabilis plants consists of pink –colored plants (RW).
3. Codominance—The phenotypes produced by both alleles are clearly expressed.
 For example: If pure-breeding red cattle are crossed with pure-breeding white cattle, the heterozygote so
produced will be roan (ቡራቡሬ).
 Another example of codominance is AB blood type in humans.

There are three alleles for human blood type: These are IA, IB, and IO.

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 1. Group A AA or AO (A is dominant over O)
2. Blood group B BB or BO (B is dominant over O)
Blood group AB AB (example of codominant)

More Human Inheritance

 There are a number of genetic conditions which cause serious health problems and even death.
 Many other combinations have a relatively simple but very noticeable effect. One of these is albinism.
 The high levels of melanin (black pigment) in Ethiopian skin gives a natural protection against UV
radiation from the sun but even so it is still sometimes useful to have additional protection from sunscreen.
 People with paler skins are much more likely to suffer severe sun damage.
 Albinism is a genetic condition in which no melanin pigment is formed in the cells.

A) How two carriers can produce an albino child?

 Parental genotype Aa x Aa A a
 Possible gametes A and a x A and a A AA Aa
 Possible F1 genotype 1AA : 2Aa : 1aa a Aa aa
 Possible F1 phenotypes 3 normal: 1 albino

B) How an albino and someone with a normal phenotype but heterozygous might produce an albino child or a
normal child?

 Parental genotype Aa x aa A a
 Possible gametes A and a x a and a a Aa aa
 Possible F1 genotypes are 1AA : 1aa a Aa aa
 Possible F1 phenotypes 1 normal: 1 albino

C) How an albino and a homozygous normal individual would never have an albino child?

 Parental genotype AA x aa
 Possible gametes A and A x a and a
 Possible F1 genotypes All Aa A A
 Possible F1 phenotypes all normal a Aa Aa
a Aa Aa
Albinism is particularly noticeable in areas where most people have a high level of melanin in the skin, such as
Africa.

 The appearance of an albino in a family can appear quite random, but it is the result of hidden recessive
alleles.
 For example, in the inherited condition known as albinism the melanin pigment in the skin, hair and eyes
does not develop.
 The normal allele for pigment to develop is A and it is dominant.
 The allele for albinism, a, is recessive. Albinism is found throughout the animal kingdom and people are no
exception.
 Albino individuals are very vulnerable to sun damage to their skin, so they have a greatly increased risk of
developing skin cancer.
 They have to take great care to protect their vulnerable skin from sunlight.
 Their eyes are also very sensitive to light and they often have problems with their vision – but apart from
this they lead completely normal lives.
 If people do not understand genetics, the arrival of an albino baby can cause great distress, and in the past,
albinos often suffered discrimination as a result of their unusual appearance.
 However, for albinism and indeed any other genetic traits, looking at the family can show exactly how a
characteristic has been passed on.