Introduction to Genetics
Dr. Sanatan Majhi
Assistant Professor
Department of Biotechnology
Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar
Mendel’s laws of Inheritance
The principles of Mendelian inheritance
were named by Gregor Johann Mendel
Experimented with pea plants (Pisum
sativum)
Mendel's discoveries
1. Characters are unitary/discrete e.g:
purple vs. white, tall vs. dwarf.
2. Genetic characteristics have alternate
forms, each inherited from one of two Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
parents (alleles). Why was Pea Plant Selected for Mendel’s
Experiments?
3. One allele is dominant over the other. 1. The pea plant can be easily grown and
The phenotype reflects the dominant maintained.
allele. Gametes are created by
random segregation. 2. They are naturally self-pollinating but can also
be cross-pollinated.
4. Heterozygotic individuals produce
gametes with an equal frequency of 3. It is an annual plant, therefore, many
the two alleles. generations can be studied within a short period
of time.
5. Different traits have independent
assortment. 4. It has several contrasting characters.
He conceived the idea of heredity units, which
he called hereditary "factors".
Mendel found that there are alternative forms
of factors—now called genes—that account for
variations in inherited characteristics.
For example, the gene for flower color in pea
plants exists in two forms, one for purple and the
other for white. The alternative "forms" are now
called alleles.
For each trait, an organism inherits two alleles,
one from each parent. These alleles may be the
same or different.
An organism that has two identical alleles for a
gene is said to be homozygous for that gene (and
is called a homozygote).
An organism that has two different alleles for a
gene is said be heterozygous for that gene (and is
called a heterozygote).
Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
Mendel selected the following
characters of pea plants:
Seed shape (round or
wrinkled)
Seed color (green or yellow)
Seed coat color
(green/coloured or white)
Pod shape (constricted or
inflated)
Characteristics Mendel used in his
Pod color (green or yellow) experiments
Position of flowers (axial or
terminal)
Plant stem length (tall/long or
dwarf/short)
Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
Mendel’s laws
Mendel’s laws also known as laws of inheritance :
Law of Dominance
Law of Independent Assortment
Law of Segregation
Law of Dominance
According to the law of dominance, hybrid offsprings will only inherit the dominant trait in
the phenotype. The alleles that are suppressed are called as the recessive traits while the
alleles that determine the trait are known as the dormant traits.
Law of Independent Assortment
The law of independent assortment states that, a pair of trait segregates independently of
another pair during gamete formation. As the individual heredity factors assort independently,
different traits get equal opportunity to occur together.
Law of Segregation
The law of segregation states that during the production of gametes, two copies of each
hereditary factor segregate, so that offspring acquire one factor from each parent. In other
words, allele (alternative form of the gene) pairs segregate during the formation of gamete
and re-unite randomly during fertilization.
Law of Dominance
The principle of dominant states that in a heterozygote the dominant allele will
cause the recessive allele to be "masked": that is, not expressed in the phenotype.
When he crossed pure bred white flower and red flower pea plants by artificial
pollination, the resulting flower colour was not a blend in F-1 generation.
Rather than being a mix of the two, the offspring in the first generation (F1-
generation) were all red-flowered. Therefore, he called this biological trait
dominant.
Only if an individual is homozygous with respect to the recessive allele then
only recessive trait will be expressed. Therefore, a cross between a homozygous
dominant and a homozygous recessive organism yields a heterozygous organism
whose phenotype displays only the dominant trait.
The F1 offspring of Mendel's pea crosses always looked like one of the two
parental varieties. In this situation of "complete dominance," the dominant allele
had the same phenotypic effect whether present in one or two copies.
Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
P-Generation and F1-Generation: The dominant allele for red flower hides the
phenotypic effect of the recessive allele for white flowers.
F2-Generation: The recessive trait from the P-Generation phenotypically reappears in
the individuals that are homozygous with the recessive genetic trait.
When he allowed self-fertilization in the uniform looking F1-generation, he
obtained both colours in the F2 generation with a red flower to white flower
ratio of 3 : 1
….CONT
For some characteristics, the F1
hybrids have an appearance in
between the phenotypes of the two
parental varieties. A cross between
two Mirabilis jalapa plants shows
an exception to Mendel's principle,
called incomplete dominance.
Flowers of heterozygous plants
have a phenotype somewhere
between the two homozygous
genotypes.
In cases of intermediate
inheritance (incomplete dominance)
in the F1-generation Mendel's
principle of uniformity in genotype
and phenotype applies as well.
Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
Law of Independent Assortment
The Law of Independent
Assortment states that alleles for
separate traits are passed
independently of one another.
The biological selection of an allele
for one trait has nothing to do with
the selection of an allele for any other
trait.
Mendel found In his monohybrid
crosses, a 3:1 ratio between dominant
and recessive phenotypes
In dihybrid crosses, however, he
found a 9:3:3:1 ratio.
Segregation and independent assortment are
consistent with the chromosome theory of
This shows that each of the two
inheritance
alleles is inherited independently
from the other, with a 3:1 phenotypic
ratio for each. Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
Law of Segregation of genes
The Law of Segregation of
genes applies when two
individuals, both heterozygous for
a certain trait are crossed, for
example hybrids of the F1-
generation.
The offspring in the F2-
generation differ in genotype and
phenotype, so that the
characteristics of the grandparents
(P-generation) regularly occur
again.
In a dominant-recessive
inheritance an average of 25% are Cited from: Concepts of Genetics by Pearson
homozygous with the dominant
trait, 50% are heterozygous Mirabilis jalapa and Antirrhinum majus are
showing the dominant trait in the examples for intermediate inheritance.
phenotype (genetic carriers), 25%
are homozygous with the recessive F1-generation: Heterozygous plants have "light
trait and therefore express the pink" flowers—a mix of "red" and "white".
recessive trait in the phenotype.
The genotypic ratio is 1 : 2 : 1, the F2-generation: Shows a 1:2:1 ratio of red : light
phenotypic ratio is 3 : 1. pink : white
Chromosomal Theory of Heredity
Long before chromosomes were visualized under a
microscope, the father of genetics, Gregor Mendel,
began studying heredity in 1843.
With the improvement of microscopic techniques
during the late 1800s, cell biologists could stain and
visualize sub-cellular structures with dyes and
observe their actions during cell division and Walter Theodor
meiosis.
Sutton Boveri
The chromosomal theory of inheritance was given
by Boveri and Sutton in the early 1900s, also known
as the chromosome theory of inheritance or
the Sutton–Boveri theory
It states that chromosomes are seen in all dividing
cells and pass from one generation to the next, are the
basis for all genetic inheritance.
According to this theory, genes are the units of
heredity and are found in the chromosomes.
Cited from: BYJU,S online class
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