BY ISAYA P.

MWAMBOLI (0762460481)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMMON TERMS USED IN GENETICS ............................................................................................ 3

GENETIC/HEREDITARY MATERIALS ..............................................................................................6

TYPES OF GENETIC MATERIALS ...................................................................................................6

1. DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA) ...................................................................................6

2. RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA) ......................................................................................... 10

THE CHROMOSOMES ......................................................................................................... 14

THE PRINCIPLE OF INHERITANCE .............................................................................................. 16

MENDELIAN INHERITANCE ................................................................................................. 16

MENDEL’S EXPERIMENTS.................................................................................................... 16

METHODS OF SOLVING GENETIC/MENDELIAN PROBLEMS............................................................... 22

MONOHYBRID CROSSES ......................................................................................................... 24

PROBABILITY .................................................................................................................. 30

THE PATTERNS OF INHERITANCE THAT FOLLOW MENDELIAN FIRST LAW OF INHERITANCE.................... 32

NON- MENDELIAN INHERITANCE .............................................................................................. 41

SEX DETERMINATION ............................................................................................................. 51

LINKAGE ............................................................................................................................. 53

SEX PREFERENCE AND SELECTION ....................................................................................... 60

MORE SOLVED EXAMPLES ....................................................................................................... 61

DIHYBRID INHERITANCE .........................................................................................................79

VARIATION AMONG ORGANISMS .............................................................................................. 82

TYPES OF VARIATION ........................................................................................................ 82

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTINOUS AND DISCONTINOUS VARIATION ....................................83

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 CAUSES OF VARIATION AMONG ORGANISMS ..........................................................................83

MUTATION ..........................................................................................................................85

CAUSES OF MUTATION ......................................................................................................85

TYPES OF MUTATIONS ...................................................................................................... 87

SIGNIFICANCE/IMPORTANCE OF MUTATION .......................................................................... 88

DISADVANTAGES OF MUTATION ......................................................................................... 88

GENETIC DISORDERS ............................................................................................................. 89

GENERAL CAUSES OF GENETIC DISORDERS ............................................................................95

EFFECTS OF GENETIC DISORDERS .........................................................................................95

APPLICATION OF GENETICS IN DAILY LIFE ................................................................................... 96

DISADVANTAGES OF GENETIC ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY ........................................................99

EXERCISE ......................................................................................................................... 100

REFERENCE ....................................................................................................................... 101

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INTRODUCTION TO GENETICS

 Genetics is the study of heredity and variation of organisms

 VARIATION – Is the possession of characteristics different from those of the parents
and other offsprings
OR Is the difference among organisms of the same species
 HEREDITY – Is the possession of characteristics similar to those of the parents

COMMON TERMS USED IN GENETICS

1. GENOTYPE – is the genetic makeup or constitution of an organism
Example AA, Aa, aa
2. PHENOTYPES – these are the observable characteristics of an organism resulted from
the interaction between the genes and the environment. Example skin colour, height
and position of flowers in plants
3. CHROMOSOMES – are thread-like structures found in the nucleus containing genetic
materials
4. GENE – is the basic unit of inheritance for a given characteristic
- Or is a very small segment of chromosome which is responsible carrying
genetic information
5. LOCUS(LOCI) – is the position of a gene within a chromosome
6. ALLELE – Is the alternative form of a gene responsible for contrasting characteristics
example height – tall (T) or short (t)

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7. HOMOZYGOUS – is a diploid condition in which the alleles at a given locus are
identical example AA or aa
8. HETEROZYGOUS – is a diploid condition in which the alleles at a given locus are
different example Aa
9. DOMINANT ALLELE – is the allele which expresses the appearance of a phenotype
even in the presence of alternative allele example A
10. DOMINANCE – is the condition in which an allele can express itself in both
homozygous and heterozygous forms. example TT and Tt all represent tallness
11. RECESSIVE ALLELE – is the allele which expresses the appearance of a phenotype only
in the presence of another identical allele example a
OR is the allele which do not show its characteristics over the dominant one
12. RECESSIVENESS – is a condition where an allele can only express itself in homozygous
form. Example tt for dwarfism
13. TRAIT – this is the characteristic shown by an organism. Example skin colour, height
14. FIRST FILIAL GENERATION (F1-GENERATION)
-is the generation or offspring produced by crossing the parents
15. SECOND FILIAL GENERATION (F2 –GENERATION)
- Is the generation obtained by crossing F1-generation
16. BACK CROSS – is the cross between the offspring with either of its parents
17. TEST CROSS – is a cross between an individual with unknown genotype and a
homozygous recessive individual

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18. SELFING –is the process of crossing offsprings of the same pair of parents
19. HYBRIDIZATION – is the process of crossing two organisms which differ in some
characteristics
20. HYBRIDS – are the offsprings produced by crossing two individuals with different
contrasting characteristics
21. PURE BREED OR PURELINES - are organisms which on self-cross always produce
offsprings with the same characteristics generation after generation
22. LINKAGE – is the tendency of several genes not to separate from one another
throughout several generations
23. PEDIGREE – is the historical or ancestral record of individual character.
24. HAPLOID (n) – is the tendency of having one set of unpaired chromosomes in the
nucleus
25. DIPLOID (2n) – is the tendency of having two sets of paired homologous chromosomes
in the nucleus
26. MUTATION – is a sudden change in genetic constitution of an organism

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GENETIC/HEREDITARY MATERIALS
 These are materials which contain genetic information
 Genetic materials includes the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid
(RNA) which are found within the chromosomes

TYPES OF GENETIC MATERIALS

1. DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA)
 This is a genetic material which is double – stranded, coiled and twisted to form
a double helix
COMPONENTS AND STRUCTURE OF DNA
 DNA is a double –stranded helical molecular chain of nucleic acid found in the nucleus
of a cell
 It is made up of many nucleotides forming a polynucleotide chain
 The polynucleotide chain runs in the opposite direction
 Each chain is joined by pairs of bases which are Guanine (G), Cytosine (C), Adenine (A)
and Thymine(T)
 The nucleotide of a DNA molecule consists of the following structures
i. Phosphate group
ii. Five carbon (pentose) sugar or Deoxyribose sugar
iii. Organic (nitrogeneous) bases

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 i. Phosphate group
 This is derived from phosphoric acid and it gives the acidic character of the DNA
ii. Deoxyribose sugar
 This is a sugar with five carbons
 The pentose sugar lacks one oxygen atom that is why it is called deoxyribose
sugar
iii. Nitrogeneous bases
 These are bases containing nitrogen
 The DNA contains four nitrogeneous bases which are
 Adenine (A)
 Guanine (G)
 Thymine (T)
 Cytosine (C)

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 In formation of double helix strand of DNA the nitrogeneous bases combine as
follows
 Adenine pairs with thymine by double bond (A=T)
 Cytosine pairs with guanine by triple bond (C≡G)
 The nitrogeneous bases are held together by hydrogen bond

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 Figure 1: Double helix structure of DNA

FUNCTIONS OF DNA

i. It carries all kinds of necessary biological information from one generation to another
ii. It gives rise to RNA through transcription
iii. It controls all metabolic reactions of the cells through RNA
iv. The change in sequence and number of nucleotides produce mutations

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 DNA REPLICATION
 This is the process in which the exactly copies of DNA molecule are formed

2. RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA)

 This is a single strand of polynucleotide chain
 RNA is found throughout the cell in distinction to DNA which only found in the
nucleus
 The RNA is synthesized by DNA
THE STRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS OF DNA
 The RNA consists of only strand of polynucleotide chain
 The polynucleotide is made up of many nucleotides
 Each nucleotide contains the following
i. Nitrogeneous bases or nucleobases
ii. Ribose sugar
iii. Phosphate group

i. Phosphate group
- This is also derived from phosphoric acid
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 - It gives the acidic character of the RNA
ii. Ribose sugar
- This is a sugar with five carbons and contains the required number of
oxygen atoms
iii. Nitrogeneous bases
- These are bases which contain nitrogen in their structures
- There are four types of nitrogeneous bases found in RNA which are
 Adenine (A)
 Guanine (G)
 Uracil (U)
 Cytosine (C)

Figure 2: The RNA structure

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 TYPES OF RNA

i. Transfer RNA (tRNA)

 This is a types of RNA which is used to carry amino acids from the different parts of the
cell to the ribosomes
ii. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
 These are RNA which are coiled together with proteins to form the ribosomes
iii. Messenger RNA (mRNA)
 This is the type of RNA which is used to carry the message from the DNA to the ribosomes

FUNCTIONS OF RNA

The RNA is concerned in expression of genetic code of DNA by forming specific

proteins
RNA is a genetic material in some viruses example TMV
Some RNA has enzyme activities example ribozymes and ribonuclease
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DNA AND RNA
S/N DNA RNA
1 Has a deoxyribose sugar Has a ribose sugar
2 Has double strand Has single strand
3 It is found in the nucleus, Found in the nucleus and cytoplasm
mitochondria and chloroplast

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4 Nitrogeneous bases are cytosine, Nitrogeneous bases are cytosine,
guanine, adenine and thymine guanine, adenine and uracil
5 There is hydrogen bond which hold No hydrogen bonds
together the DNA strands
6 There is only one type of DNA There are two types of RNA which are
mRNA, rRNA and tRNA

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THE CHROMOSOMES
 These are thread like structures found in the nucleus of a cell which contains the genetic
materials
 They are only visible when a cell is about to divide
 Every nucleus of a cell the same species has a constant number of chromosomes
 The table below shows the number of chromosomes in some organisms
ORGANISM NUMBER OF CHROMOSOMES
Human being 46
Fruit fly 8
Garden pea 14
Maize 20
Sheep 56
Wheat 14
THE STRUCTURE OF CHROMOSOMES

 Each chromosome is made up of two parallel strands called chromatids

 The two chromatids are connected to each other at a central point called
centromere
 The two chromosomes that form the pair have the same length and look alike
but may have different genetic composition are called HOMOLOGOUS
CHROMOSOMES

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 Figure 3: Chromosome structure

TYPES OF CHROMOSOMES

i. Autosomes (autosomal chromosomes)

 These are chromosomes that carry all genetic information except that of
sex
 In humans the autosomes are 44 in number forming 22 pairs
ii. Heterosomes (sex chromosomes)
 These are chromosomes which determine the sex of an organism
 In human there are two sex chromosomes forming one pair

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THE PRINCIPLE OF INHERITANCE
 Inheritance – is the passage of characteristics(traits) from the parents to the offspring

MENDELIAN INHERITANCE
 This is the pattern of inheritance which follow the Mendelian principles
 Gregor Johann Mendel who is regarded as the father of genetics is the pioneer of
genetics
 He was conducting his work in the garden using garden peas (Pisum sativum)

MENDEL’S EXPERIMENTS
 Gregor Mendel chose to work with the garden peas in his garden for his experiments
for the following reasons
i. They are self-pollinating but can be cross pollinated
ii. They mature very fast
iii. They produce many seeds hence many offsprings
iv. They have many contrasting characters like height, textures, colour of flowers,
colour of pods, position of flowers

MENDEL’S PROCEDURES

 Mendel crossed pure breed purple-flowered pea plants with pure breed white –
flowered plants
 Also he allowed the F1 hybrid to self-fertilize
 He also crossed various characters of garden peas as shown below

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  Smooth seeds vs wrinkled seeds
 Yellow seeds vs green seeds
 Tall plant vs short plants
 With axial flowers vs terminal flowers

MENDEL’S RESULTS

 In regard to flower colour Mendel saw the F1 hybrid plants have purple flowers and not
white flowers

 When allowed the F1 hybrids (offsprings) to self-fertilize about ¼ (25%) of the F2 plants
had white flowers while ¾ (75%) had purple flowers

 The results on other crosses are summarized in the table of results below

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 MENDEL’S RESULTS INTERPRETATION

 The factor for white flowers did not disappear in the F1 plants instead only the purple
flowers factor was affecting F1 flower colour
 Mendel reasoned that the F1 plants must have carried two factors (particles) for the
flower colour character, one for purple and the other for white
 Mendel’s factors are now called GENES
NB: the results for other Mendel’s experiments are shown in the table below
Ratio of f2-
Traits crossed F1-generation F2-generation generation
Tall x short All tall 787tall, 277short 3tall:1short
Axial x terminal All axial 651axial, 3axial:1terminal
flowers 207terminal
Round/smooth x All round 5474smooth, 1850 3 smooth: 1
wrinkled seeds wrinkled wrinkled
Green x yellow pods All green 428green, 152yellow 3green: 1 yellow

MENDELIAN ASSUMPTIONS

 Alphabetical letters are used to represent genes in inheritance diagrams

 A dominant allele is represented by capital letter for example T for tallness
 A recessive allele is represented by small letter for example t for shortness

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  Assume T represents a factor for tallness and t represent a factor for shortness
 Assume that one factor is contributed by the egg (ovum) and the other one by
the sperm or pollen
 Assume that T dominates t so that when the two are together only T is expressed
 Assume each parent contain a pair of identical allele ie TT and tt
 The Mendelian experiments can be summarized by the crosses below

F1- phenotypes = all are tall plants

F1-genotypes = all are heterozygous tall (Tt)

 Then Mendel crossed F1 generation themselves in order to get F2 generation and then
obtained the following results

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 Hence TT- homozygous tall
Tt – heterozygous tall
tt - Homozygous short
F2-genotypes = 1 homozygous tall (1TT)
= 2 heterozygous tall (2Tt)
= 1 homozygous recessive short (1tt)
Therefore genotypic ration = 1TT:2Tt:1tt
F2-phenotypes = 3tall and 1short
F2-phenotypic ration = 3tall:1short

MENDELIAN FIRST LAW OF INHERITANCE (THE LAW OF SEGREGATION)

 The law states that

“The characteristics of an organism are controlled by internal factors occurring in pairs
where by only one factor is carried in gametes”
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  In modern terms this means that the characteristics of an organism are controlled by
genes occurring in pairs but only one gene can be carried in a single gamete
Example 1

The cross between plants whose seeds are round and plants whose seeds are wrinkled. The
results will be as follows

Let R-allele for round seed l- allele for wrinkled seeds

 When we cross pollinate F1 themselves in order to get the F2 generation

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 Phenotypes = 3round and 1 wrinkled

Genotypes = 1RR, 2Rr and 1rr

Genotypic ration= 1RR:2Rr:1rr and phenotypic ratio= 3round:1wrinkled

METHODS OF SOLVING GENETIC/MENDELIAN PROBLEMS

i. Mendelian crosses or genetic diagrams
ii. Punnet square method
iii. Algebraic method

EXAMPLE

Two heterozygous plant heights were pollinated (crossed) to produce the F1-individuals. Show
how the individuals were obtained

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Solution

i. BY MENDELIAN CROSSES

Phenotypic ratio = 3tall:1short

Genotypic ratio=1TT:2Tt:1tt

ii. BY PUNNET SQUARE

T t
T TT Tt
t Tt tt
Phenotypic ration= 3Tall:1Short

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 Genotypic ration= 1TT:2Tt:1tt

iii. BY ALGEBRAIC METHOD

Parental phenotypes Tall plant x Tall plant
Parental genotypes Tt Tt
Gametes (T + t) (T + t)
Fertilization = (T + t) (T + t)
= T2 + Tt + Tt + t2
F1-generation = TT + 2Tt + tt
Phenotypic ratio = 3Tall:1Short
Genotypic ratio= 1TT:2Tt:1tt

COMPLETE DOMINANCE
 This is a condition in which a dominant gene completely masks the recessive gene to
express the phenotype
 The dominant gene therefore expresses itself in both homozygous and the heterozygous
state
 Most of the characters explained by Mendel showed complete dominance

MONOHYBRID CROSSES
 These are crosses which involves single pair of contrasting trait
 Example height which can be either tall or short

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 Example 1

Fur colour in mice is determined by two alleles. The allele for black fur is dominant over the
allele for brown fur. A homozygous black mouse was crossed with a homozygous brown
mouse.

i. What will be the results in the F1-generation?

ii. If the F1 offsprings are allowed to mate, what are the genotypes, phenotypes, genotypic
ratio and phenotypic ratio of the F2generation?
Solution
i. Required to find the results of the F1 generation
Let B –Allele for black fur
b – Allele for brown fur

Possible genotypes
BB – Homozygous dominant black fur
Bb – Heterozygous black fur
bb- Homozygous recessive brown fur

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 F1-Genotypes = all are heterozygous black fur mice (Bb)
F1-phenotypes = all are black fur mice
ii. Required to find the genotypes, phenotypes, genotypic ratio and phenotypic ratio of the
F2-generation

F2-phenotypes = Homozygous dominant black fur (BB)

=Heterozygous black fur (Bb)

= Homozygous recessive brown fur (bb)

F2-phenotypes = 3black fur and 1brown fur

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 F2-genotypic ratio = 1BB:2Bb:1bb

F2-genotypic ratio = 3black:1brown

TEST CROSS

 This is a cross between an individual with unknown genotypes with homozygous

recessive individual

TEST CROSS RATIO

 This is the ration obtained after a cross between heterozygous individual and
homozygous recessive individual
 The ratio is usually 1:1
Example
A cross between heterozygous tall plant (Tt) and homozygous recessive short plant (tt)
Solution

Phenotype = 2tall plants and 2 short plants

Phenotypic ratio = 2tall:2short = 1tall:1short

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 BACK CROSS

 This is a cross between the offsprings and either of its parents

Example
If axial flower is dominant over terminal flower. The homozygous axial flowered plant
was crossed with terminal flowered plants. Back crossing
SOLUTION
Let A – Allele for axial flower
a- allele for terminal flower
Possible genotypes
AA – Homozygous dominant axial flower
Aa – Heterozygous axial flower
aa- homozygous recessive terminal flower

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BACK CROSSING

BASIC MONOHYBRID CROSS

 This is a cross between heterozygous individuals. Example Aa x Aa

BASIC MONOHYBRID RATIO

 This is the ratio obtained after crossing both heterozygous individuals

 The basic monohybrid ratio is usually 3:1 phenotype and 1:2:1 genotype
Example
A gene for brown eyes is dominant over the gene for blue eyes in man. If a heterozygous
brown eyed man marries a heterozygous brown eyed woman. What will be the
genotypic and phenotypic ratio?
Solution
Let B- Allele for brown eyes
b- Allele for blue eyes
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 Possible genotypes
BB- Homozygous dominant brown eyes
Bb – Heterozygous brown eyes
Bb – Homozygous recessive blue eyes

Genotypic ratio = 1BB:2Bb:1bb

Phenotypic ratio = 3Brown eyes : 1blue eyes

PROBABILITY
 This is the study of the operation of the law of chance
 Chance refers to the likelihood of a certain event happening
 Probability is usually expressed by means of fractions or percentages
Formula calculating probability
𝑁𝑈𝑀𝐵𝐸𝑅 𝑂𝐹 𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑁𝐶𝐸𝑆 𝐹𝑂𝑅 𝐴𝑁 𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁𝑇(𝐸)
PROBABILITY (P) =
𝑁𝑈𝑀𝐵𝐸𝑅 𝑂𝐹 𝐴𝐿𝐿 𝑃𝑂𝑆𝑆𝐼𝐵𝐿𝐸 𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁𝑇𝑆 (𝑇)

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 Example when a coin is tossed one of two possible events can occur. It can occur either a
head or tail. The probability of obtaining a tail can be ½. this means there is one chance
out of two possibilities that tails will come up
 There are two important principles of probability which are useful when studying genetics
as follow
1. The rule of independent events
(The previous events do not affect the probability of the later occurrences of
the same event)
2. The product rule
(The probability of independent events occurring together is equal to the
product of the probabilities of the events occurring separately)
P(A) and P(B) = P(A) X P(B)

Example if you toss a 20 shillings coin and a 5 shilling coin together, what
are the chances of both coins coming up tails?
Probability of tails = ½ x ½ = ¼

APPLICATION OF PROBABILITY RULES IN GENETICS

 The rules of probability can be used to help predict the results of genetic crosses
 Consider the cross below

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 From meiosis each gamete has 1 in 2 chances of receiving one of the t allele likewise
each gamete has 1 in 2 chances of receiving one of the T alleles
 Therefore the probability of each gene coming together in fertilization is calculated by
product rule
The probability of TT = ½T X ½T = ¼TT
The probability of 2Tt = 2(½T X ½t) = ½Tt
The probability of tt = ½t X ½t = ¼tt
Genotypic ratio = ¼TT: ½Tt: ¼tt = 1TT: 2Tt:1tt
Phenotypic ratio = ¾tall: ¼short = 3tall: 1short
3 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠
The probability of producing tall plants = x 100% = 75%
4 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠
1 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡
The probability of producing short plant = 𝑥 100% = 25%
4 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠

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 THE PATTERNS OF INHERITANCE THAT FOLLOW MENDELIAN FIRST LAW OF
INHERITANCE
 The following are the patterns of inheritance that follow Mendelian laws
i. Albinism
ii. Tongue rolling
iii. Haemophilia
iv. Sickle cell anaemia
v. Colour blindness

i. ALBINISM
 This is the hereditary condition which is characterised by lack of melanin pigment in
the skin, hair and eyes
 Albinism is not confined to human only but other animals
 Albinism in plants is characterised by lack chlorophyll
 An ALBINO is an organism which lack melanin pigment
 Albinism is controlled by a recessive allele where by homozygous individuals for this
gene are albino while heterozygous are normal

TYPES OF ALBINISM

a) Ocular albinism(OA)
 This is the type of albinism which affects the eyes only while the hairs and
skin are normal
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 b) Oculocutaneous albinism
 This is the type of albinism which affects the eyes, skin and hairs

CONSEQUENCES/EFFECTS OF ALBINISM/PROBLEMS FACING ALBINOS

a. Abnormal eye development and appearance

 Melanin functions in the normal development of various parts of the eye,
including the iris, retina, eye muscles, and optic nerve.
 The absence of melanin results in abnormal development of eyes and leads to
problems with focusing, and depth perception.
 The eyes of albino animals appear red because the colour of the red blood cells
in the retina can be seen through the iris, which has no pigment to obscure this.
b. Reduced protection from sunlight
 Melanin protects the skin from ultra-violet radiation in sunlight.
 Melanosomes block harmful electromagnetic radiation from the sun while
allowing beneficial frequencies to enter the body.
 This results into skin cancer and other diseases
c. Social segregation
 People with albinism are at risk of isolation because the condition is often not
understood
d. Witchcrafts and traditional believes resulting into killing albinos
 In most African societies the albinos are being killed believing that they are
sources of wealth
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INHERITANCE OF ALBINISM

Albinism is an inherited disorder caused by a recessive gene represented by a letter a

Individuals with albinism must be homozygous recessive
Allele “A” is dominant over the allele “a”

Possible genotypes

AA- Homozygous normal

Aa – heterozygous normal (carrier)
aa- albinism
Example 1

An albino male marries a heterozygous female. If the female has six children, what will
be their probable genotypic and phenotypic ratio?
Solution
Let A – allele for normal skin
a- Allele for albinism
Genotypes
Male with albinism = aa
Heterozygous female = Aa

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 Genotypic ratio = ½Aa: ½aa = 1Aa:1aa

Phenotypic ratio = ½normal skin: ½albino = 1normal: 1 albino

Example 2

A couple with normal skin pigmentation marry and produce six children. Out of six children,
four have normal skin pigmentation and two are albino. What are the genotypes of the
parents?

Solution

Let A – allele for normal skin

a- Allele for albinism

Possible genotypes

AA = Homozygous normal

Aa = Heterozygous normal

aa- albinism
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  For normal parents to produce four children with normal skin and two
children with albinism, the parent might be the carrier for albinism because
the gene for normal skin is recessive
 The albino children (aa) each have inherited one a allele from each parent
showing that the parents were heterozygous normal
 Consider the cross below

Therefore the genotypes of the parents are Aa for both male and female

ii. TONGUE ROLLING

 This is the hereditary trait characterised by the ability of rolling a tongue into a U-
shape
 Tongue rollers can roll their tongue into U-shape while non - tongue rollers cannot roll
their tongue into a U-shape
 This is the trait which is controlled by a dominant gene
 Individuals with heterozygous and homozygous gene are tongue rollers while with
homozygous recessive gene are non – tongue rollers
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 Genotypes
RR - Homozygous tongue roller
Rr – Heterozygous tongue roller
rr- non- tongue roller

Example 1

What will be the results of the offsprings if the heterozygous tongue roller is crossed with non-
tongue roller?

Let R –allele for tongue roller

r- Allele for non-tongue roller

Possible genotypes

RR- Homozygous tongue roller

Rr – Heterozygous tongue roller

rr - non-tongue roller

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 Phenotype = 2 tongue rollers and 2 non-tongue rollers

Genotypes = Rr and rr

iii. HAEMOPHILIA
 This is the hereditary trait which is characterised by delayed blood clotting causing
prolonged bleeding
 It is also characterised by a tendency to bleed in the skin, muscles and joints
 Haemophiliac females rarely live beyond puberty because of the excessive bleeding
during menstrual period
 It is controlled by a recessive allele. Homozygous recessive individuals are haemophilic,
heterozygous individuals are normal but carriers of the trait
 The incidence of hemophilic can be reduced by avoiding marriage between
heterozygous females and haemophilic males

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 iv. COLOUR BLINDNESS
 This is the hereditary condition characterized by inability to distinguish between
certain colour of spectrum
 The commonest form of colour blindness is the inability to distinguish red from green
 Colour blindness is controlled by recessive allele. Homozygous recessive individuals are
colour blind while heterozygous have normal vision
v. SICKLE –CELL ANAEMIA
 This is a genetic disorder which make the red blood cells assume a sickle shape under
certain conditions
 People with sickle cell anaemia are homozygous recessive hence the incidence of sickle
cell anaemia can be reduced by avoiding marriages between closely related individuals
 The red blood cell become sickled under the following conditions
 When a person is affected by diseases like malaria
 When the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere is very low
 The sickle shape of red blood cells their ability to carry oxygen is reduced and cause
anaemia
 Also sickle cell shape prevents the normal flow of blood in small blood vessels causing
swelling and bursting

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NON- MENDELIAN INHERITANCE
 This is the pattern of inheritance which does not follow the Mendelian law
 The non – Mendelian inheritance are
 Co-dominance
 Incomplete dominance
 Sex linkage
 Lethal inheritance
 Epistasis
i. CO-DOMINANCE
 This a form inheritance in which both alleles produce equal phenotypic expression
 This occurs in heterozygous condition where each allele express the appearance of a
phenotypes
 Examples of co-dominance
(a) The allele for blood group A and allele for blood group B
(b) Brown hair colour in horse and white hair colour in horse
(c) Inheritance of flower colour in plants

Example

When a horse with brown coloured fur is crossed with white coloured fur the following will be
the results

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Let B – allele for brown hairs

W – allele for white hairs

Possible genotypes

BB- brown hairs

BW – brown and white hairs

WW –white hairs

Phenotypes = all have brown and white hairs

ii. INCOMPLETE DOMINANCE

 This is the inheritance in which neither allele is dominant but they combine and display
a new trait which results from mixing of the two alleles
 Example when a red flowered rose is crossed with a white flowered rose to produce pink
flowered rose
Let R – allele for red flower

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 W - allele for white flower
Possible genotypes
RR – red flowers
RW – pink flowers
WW – white flowers

Genotypes = all are BW

Phenotypes = all are pink flowered plants

 When the F1-generation are self-crossed the following results will be obtained

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 Genotypes = RR, RW and WW

Phenotypes = red, pink and white flowers

Genotypic ratio = ¼RR: ½RW: ¼WW = 1RR: 2WW:1WW

Phenotypic ratio = ¼red flower: ½pink flowers: ¼white flowers

=1red: 2 pink: 1 white

iii. MULTIPLE ALLELISM

 This is the tendency of inheritance in which one trait is controlled by more than two
alleles
 Example inheritance of ABO blood group system
INHERIATANCE OF BLOOD GROUPS
 In humans the ABO blood group is a heritable character passed from the parents to
the offsprings
 The blood group is determined by three alleles A, B and O

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  These three alleles are responsible for the presence of antigen types on the red blood
cells
 Allele A is responsible for the presence of antigen A
 Allele B is responsible for the presence of antigen B
 Allele O is responsible for no (zero) antigen on red blood cells
 Blood types follow both co-dominance and simple dominance
 The allele A and allele B are co-dominant to each other
 The allele A and allele B are both dominant over the allele O
The possible genotypes
Blood group Genotype
A AA or AO
B BB or BO
AB AB
O OO
Example 1

What will be the phenotypes of the children whose parents are blood group AB and O?

Solution

Genotypes = AB and O

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 Genotypes = AO and BO

Phenotypes = blood group A and blood group B

Example 2

A woman of blood group A claims that a man of blood group AB is the father of her child. A
blood group test reveals that the child’s blood group is O. Is it possible that the woman’s claim
is correct?

Solution

Woman’s blood group = AA or AO

Man’s blood group = AB

CASE I: a cross between AA and AB

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CASE II: a cross between AO and AB

From the above crosses there is no offspring who has blood group O

Therefore the woman’s claim is incorrect

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 INHERITANCE OF RHESUS FACTOR
 In human population, individuals either have or lack the gene for rhesus factor
 Those individuals who have the gene for rhesus factor are said to be rhesus positive
(Rh+)
 The individuals who lack the gene are said to be rhesus negative (Rh-)
 The rhesus factor is caused by a dominant gene
 The rhesus positive(Rh+) is dominant over rhesus negative (Rh-)
 The possible genotypes are as follows
The allele for rhesus positive = R
The allele for rhesus negative = r
RR – Rhesus factor positive
Rr – Rhesus factor positive
rr – Rhesus factor negative

 The rhesus antibody is normally absent in the plasma of human blood

 The (Rh-) people produce this antibody if (Rh+) is transfused to them
 The (Rh+) antigens reacts with rhesus antibodies causing agglutination
 If a woman who is (Rh-) is pregnant with (Rh+) foetus may lead to the death of the featus
before birth
 Consider the table below of blood transfusion involving rhesus factors

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 Key (√) – No agglutination

X – Agglutination occurs

Example

What will be the results of the offsprings is a man with homozygous rhesus factors positive
marries a woman with Rhesus factor negative?

Solution

Let the allele for Rhesus factor positive – R

The allele for rhesus factor negative – r

Possible genotypes

(Rh-) - rr

(Rh+) – RR

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 Therefor All children will be with Rhesus factor positive

iv. LETHAL GENES

 These are the genes which when appears in homozygous dominant state result into
death of organism during the embryonic development due to failure of implantation
v. POLYGENIC TRAITS
 These are traits controlled by more than one gene
 Example the skin colour in human is controlled by at least three genes
vi. EPISTASIS
 This is the inheritance in which a gene at one locus affects the phenotypic expression of
another gene at another locus
vii. PLEITROPY
 This is the inheritance in which a single gene has multiple phenotypic effects

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SEX DETERMINATION
 This is the process of determining whether an individual to be born is a male or female
 The sex of an individual is determined by sex chromosomes carrying sex genes
 There are two types of chromosomes which determine the sex of an individual which
are X and Y chromosomes
 The two sex chromosomes is females are similar in shape and size and said to be
homogametic (XX)
 The two set of chromosomes in males are different in shape and size and are said to be
heterogametic (XY)
MECHANISM OF SEX DETERMINATION IN HUMAN BEING
 The male produce two types of sperms, half of them containing 22 autosomes and Y
chromosomes (22 + Y) while the other half containing 22 autosomes and X
chromosomes (22 + X)
 A female produces one type of eggs all containing 22 autosomes and X chromosomes
(22 + X)
 During fertilization, one sperm fuses with egg to form a zygote
 If the sperm carrying a Y – chromosome fuses with the egg, the zygote formed will have
44 autosomes and XY chromosomes that will develop into a boy
 If the sperm carrying X-chromosomes fuses with the egg, the zygote formed will have
44 autosomes and XX chromosomes that will develop into a girl child
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 Therefore it is the sperm that fuses with the egg that determines the sex of the baby
born
 The possibility of getting a boy or a girl child is 50%
 Consider the cross below
Possible genotypes
FEMALE = XX

MALE = XY

 The cross above shows that there is equal possibility of producing male and female child
SEX CHROMOSOMES IN OTHER ORGANISMS
Organism Males Females
Drosophila XY XX
Birds, butterfly, moths, reptiles, fish XX XY
Round worms XO XX

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Example 1 (NECTA 1997)

The number of chromosomes in a fertilized egg in a woman that will grow into a male child is

A. 22 pairs + XX B. 22 pairs + Y C. 22 pairs + XY C

D. 22 + XY

LINKAGE
 This is a condition in which two different genes are located on the same chromosome
 The linked genes will segregate together as the chromosome move into a gamete
SEX – LINKED GENES
 These are genes which are located on sex chromosomes
 Most sex – linked genes are carried on X- chromosomes while the Y-chromosomes
carries few genes
SEX –LINKED TRAITS (CHARACTERS)
 These are traits controlled by genes which are located on sex chromosomes
 Example haemophilia and colour blindness
SEX- LINKED CHARACTERS IN HUMAN BEING
i. COLOUR BLINDNESS
 This is the hereditary condition characterized by inability to distinguish between
certain colour of spectrum
 The commonest form of colour blindness is the inability to distinguish red from green
 Colour blindness is controlled by recessive gene located on X-chromosome.

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  Homozygous recessive individuals are colour blind while heterozygous have normal
vision
 The effect of these genes is that they cause malfunctioning of cones in the retina

NB:

More males are affected by colour blindness than females because the males need only one allele
to be affected while the females need two alleles to be affected

Example 1

What will be the results of the offsprings if a colour blind man marries a normal woman?

Solution

The possible genotypes

XBXB = normal female

XbY = colour blind man

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 Two daughters will be normal but carriers (XBXb) while the sons will be normal (XBY)

Example 2

A woman is colour blinded. What are the chances that the sons will be colour blind when she
marries a normal man?

Solution

Possible genotypes

Colour blind woman = XbXb

Normal man = XBY

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 Genotypes = XBXb and XbY

Phenotypes = 2 normal carrier daughters and 2 colour blind sons

𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠
Chance (probability) of producing colour blind sons =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠
2
= X 100% = 100%
2

The chance of producing colour blind sons = 1 0r 100%

ii. HAEMOPHILA
 This is the hereditary condition characterised by inability of blood to clot after injury
 Haemophilia also called the BREEDER’S DISEASE
 Individuals with haemophilia are in danger of bleeding excessively even from minor
injury
 It is caused by recessive gene located on X- chromosome
 The gene for normal is represented by the letter H and for haemophilia is represented
by the letter h

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 Possible genotypes for haemophilia
XHXH = normal female
XHXh = normal but carrier female
XhXh = haemophilic female
XHY = normal male
XhY = haemophilic male

NB:

Haemophilic females are rare in cases than haemophilic males because of the following

 Many haemophilic females do not survive beyond the first menstrual cycle
 In order for a female to be haemophilic she needs to have two haemophilic genes

Example 1

If a normal man marries a haemophilic woman. What will be the results of the offsprings
produced?

Solution

Genotypes

XhXh = haemophilic female

XHY = normal man

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 Results

Genotypes = XHXh and XhY

Phenotypes = 2 normal carrier females and 2 haemophilic males

Example 2

What will be the genotypes and phenotypes of the offsprings produced when a normal carrier
female marries a normal man?

Solution

XHXh = normal but carrier female

XHY = normal male

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 Results

Genotypes = XHXH, XHXh, XhY and Xhy

Phenotypes = 1 normal female, 1 carrier female, 1normal man and 1 haemophilic male

SEX INFLUENCED TRAITS (CHARACTERS)

 These are characters or traits which are more conspicuous (expressed) in one sex
than the other OR
 These are traits are determined by autosomal genes that are expressed differently
in males and females
Examples of sex influenced characters
 Long mane (hairs) in male lion
 Big comb in cockerels
 Long horns of goats and cow
 Breast in females

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SEX - LIMITED CHARACTERS

 These are characters (traits) which are restricted(found) to only one sex
 Examples of sex limited characters are
 Beards in males
 Baldness in males
 Hairy pinna in males
 Antlers in antelopes

SEX PREFERENCE AND SELECTION

 This is the tendency of the people to like more one type sex than the other OR
 This promotes sex determination in the society
 In most African societies the males children are more preferred than females
SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING SEX PREFERENCE
 Manpower generation – some societies like pastoralists prefer boys over girls because
boys help in animal grazing
 Generation and protection of wealth – in some societies girls are preferred because they
are source of wealth if they get married
 Land ownership – in some societies women are not allowed to own land therefore are
not preferred like males
EFFECTS OF SEX PREFERENCES AND SELECTION
 Emergency of inferiority especially for unpreferred sex
 It may lead to family conflicts when the preferred sex is not produced in the family
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  It may lead to poverty hence the unpreferred is not being given the development
facilities example in some societies females are not being given the chances of going to
school

MORE SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1: NECTA 1997

Assume that the trait for cataracts in the eye is recessive to the gene for normal eyes. A man
with cataracts marries a normal eyed woman. If each had a mother with cataracts. What are
the chances of their child having cataracts in the eye?

Solution

Let C = allele for normal eyes c= allele for cataracts

Possible genotypes

CC = Homozygous normal eyes

Cc= heterozygous normal eyes

cc= cataracts

Because both had their mothers with cataract, the woman will be heterozygous normal (Cc)
due to the fact that she inherited one gene of cataract from her mother

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 Genotypes = Cc and cc

Phenotypes = 2 normal and 2 cataract children

The chance (probability) of having cataract child

𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛
= X 100%
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛
2
= X 100% = 50%
4

Therefore the chance of producing a child with cataract = 50%

Example 2: NECTA 2000

a) Sickle cell anaemia is an inherent disease of humans. The disease is controlled by

a single pair of alleles. People homozygous for the recessive alleles develop the
disease, while heterozygote do not suffer from it.
i. Using symbol “A” for the dominant allele and “a” for recessive allele. Write down
the possible genotypes of the people who

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  Suffer from the disease
 Do not suffer from the disease

Solution

The allele for normal = A

Allele for sickle – cell anaemia = a

The genotypes for people who suffer from the disease = aa

The genotypes for who do not suffer from the disease = AA and Aa

ii. If homozygous normal male marries a woman suffering from the disease. Write
down the ratio of the children suffering : children not suffering in the F2-
generation

Solution

Genotypes

Homozygous normal male = AA

Female with sickle-cell anaemia = aa

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 F1 generation are all heterozygous normal

When the F1 generation are self-crossed

Phenotypic ratio = 1 with sickle cell anaemia: 3 not suffering

iii. Distinguish between test cross and back cross

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ANSWER

 Test cross is the cross between homozygous recessive individual with an

individual of unknown genotypes while back cross is the cross between the
offspring with either of its parent

Example 3: NECTA 2001

(a) (i) Write down the chemical composition of DNA

ANSWER

 Deoxyribose (pentose) sugar

 Phosphate group derived from phosphoric acid
(ii) Give three differences between DNA and RNA
 Nitrogeneous bases – thymine, guanine, cytosine and adenine
 The hydrogen bond holding together the polynucleotide chains
ANSWER

The differences between RNA and DNA

S/N DNA RNA

1 Has a deoxyribose sugar Has a ribose sugar
2 Has double strand Has single strand
3 It is found in the nucleus, Found in nucleus in the nucleus and
mitochondria and chloroplast cytoplasm
4 Nitrogeneous bases are cytosine, Nitrogeneous bases are cytosine,
guanine, adenine and thymine guanine, adenine and uracil

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5 There is hydrogen bond which hold No hydrogen bonds
together the DNA strands
6 There is only one type of DNA There are two types of RNA which are
mRNA, rRNA and tRNA

(b) Colour blindness is a sex linked character controlled by a recessive gene located on
X-chromosome. Only homozygous females suffer from this condition. It is more
common to males. What percentage will the males suffering from colour blindness
be if a normal male marries a colour blind female?
Solution
Let C = allele for normal vision c = allele for colour blindness
Possible genotypes

XCXC = normal female

XCXc = normal but carrier female
XcXc = colour blind female
XCY = normal male
XcY = colour blind male

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 Males suffering from colour blindness = 2

Females not suffering from colour blindness = 2

Percentage of males suffering from colour blindness

𝑆𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠
= x 100%
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑓1 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
2
= x 100% = 100%
2

The percentage of producing sons with colour blindness = 100%

Example 3: NECTA 2006

a) What is variation?
b) Differentiate continuous from discontinuous variation
c) In an experiment, a variety of garden peas having smooth seed coat was crossed with
a variety of seeds having wrinkled seed coat, all the F1 generation had smooth seed

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 coat. When the F1 generation were self-crossed, the total number of F2-generation was
7324
(i) Using appropriate letter symbols, work out the genotypes of the F1
generation
(ii) From the information above, write the total number of wrinkled seeds in
the F2 generation
Solution
For (a) and (b) refer your notes
(c) (i) Required to find the genotypes of F1 generation
Let S – allele for smooth seeds
s- allele for wrinkled seeds
Possible genotypes
SS- Homozygous smooth seeds
Ss- Heterozygous smooth seeds
ss- Wrinkled seeds
 For a cross between smooth seeds and wrinkled seeds to produce the smooth
seeds in the F1 generation means that the parents were homozygous dominant
(SS) and homozygous recessive (ss). Consider the cross below

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 Phenotypes = all smooth seeds
Therefore the genotypes of F1 – Generation = all are heterozygous smooth
seeds (Ss)

(ii) Required to calculate the total number of wrinkled seeds in the F2 generation

Phenotypes = 3 smooth seeds and 1 wrinkled seed

Phenotypic ratio = 3smooth seeds: 1wrinkled seeds

The total number in the F2 generation = 7324 seeds
The total possibility of the seeds = 4/4

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 From the phenotypic ratio
The number of wrinkled seeds
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠
= x Total number of seeds produced
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠
1/4 1
= x 7324 = x 7324= 1831
4/4 4

Therefore the total number of wrinkled seeds were 1831

Example 4: NECTA 2006

Observe the Punnet square below

bc bC

Bc 1 2
bC 3 4

Write the possible gene combination in square number 1 to number 3 above

Solution

1: Bbcc 2: BbCc 3: bbCc 4: bbCC

Example 5

a) State Mendel’s first law of inheritance

b) Use the words “homozygous”, “heterozygous”, “dominant” and “recessive” to describe
the following gene combination

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 i: Bb ii: BB iii: bb

c) Explain the meaning of the following

i: sex limited characters
ii: sex linked inheritance
iii: sex determination
d) A married couple has four girl children but no boys. Does this mean that the husband
produces X-chromosomes only?

Solution

(a) Refer notes

(b) Required to write the names of the following gene combination
i. Bb – heterozygous
ii. BB – homozygous dominant
iii. Bb – homozygous recessive
(c) Refer notes
(d) No. this does not mean that a husband produces X-chromosomes only instead he
produces also Y- chromosomes. Therefore the female children are produced because
fertilization is a matter of chance

STUDENT ACTIVITY: NECTA 1997

Katundu is an ex-form four fellow and he is of blood group B heterozygous. Haambiliki whi
was to finish form four this year is blood group A heterozygous, she has a son Kaajali of
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blood group O whose she claims that Katundu is the father. Katundu who used to abscond
from biology class and knows no genetics has refuted the parentage. Give an outline of the
information that will help katundu realize that he is the legitimate father of kaajali

Example 6

In the plant Rosa alba, a pure breed white flowered plant was crossed to a pure breed red
flowered plant. All F1-plants had pink flowers. When the pink flowered plants were selfed,
the offsprings in F2 generation had 102 plants with red flowers, 207 plants with pink flowers
and 101 plants with white flowers

a) Draw the genetic diagrams to show all the crosses involved

b) Why were the pink flowered plants produced?
Solution
a) Required to draw genetic diagrams to show all the crosses involved

Let R- allele for red flowers

W – allele for white flowers

Possible genotypes

RR – red flowers

RW – pink flowers

WW – white flowers

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Genotypes = all are RW

Phenotypes = all are pink flowered plants

A cross between the F1 –generation (pink flowered plants

Genotypes = RR, RW and WW

Phenotypes = 1 red flowered plant, 2 pink flowered plants and 1 white flowered plants

Genotypic ratio = 1RR:2RW:1WW

Phenotypic ratio = 1red flower : 2pink flowers : 1white flowers

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 102 red flowered plant : 207 pink flowered plant : 101 white flowered plants

Divide by smallest number through out

102 207 101
: : ≈ 1: 2: 1
101 101 101

b) The pink flowered plants were produced because the allele for red flowers and the allele
for white flowers showed incomplete dominance because they failed to dominate each
other and produced an intermediate phenotype (pink flowers)

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Anna is a woman married to John. This couple once had a child called Kitto who
one day discovered that his parents were in bad terms. John is claiming that kitto is
an illegitimate child but Anna is opposing the case. Blood group tests reveals that
John is of blood group A and kitto is blood group O. Anna’s mother is blood type B
and anna’s father is blood group AB. By using these information only
a) Suggest the possible genotypes for Anna, show how you deduce the genotypes
b) Tell whether kitto is or not a legitimate child of the family
2. State two advantages of hybrid vigour
3. In a family with four children, three were found to have normal skin pigmentation
while one was an albino. Using letter A to represent gene for normal skin
pigmentation and a to represent the gene for albinism,
(a) What are the genotypes of the parents?
(b) Work out the genotype of
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 (i) Normal pigmentation
(ii) The albino child
(c) Genotype of normal pigmented children
(d) What is the probability that the fifth child will be an albino?
4. An investigation plants with red flowers were crossed with plants with white flowers.
All the plants in the F1 generation had pink flowers.
a) Give a reason for the appearance of pink flowers in the F1 generation.
b) If the plants the F1 generation were selfed, state the phenotypic ratio of the F2
generation
5. The chart below represents the result of successive crosses, staring with red-
flowered plants and white flowed plants and in which both plants are pure
breeding.
Parental genotypes: Red flowers x white flowers

First final generation

Selfed
Second final generation

3 red flowers: 1 white flower

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 (a) What were parental genotype? Use letter R to represent the gene for red colour
and r for white colour
(b) (i) What was the colour of the flowers in the first filial generation?
(ii) Give a reason for your answer in b (i) above

(c) If 480 red flowered plants were obtained in the second filial generation, how
many F2 plants and white flowers? Show your working.

6. The chart below shows the number of chromosomes before and after cell division
and fertilization in a mammal.

a) What type of cell division takes place at Z

b) Where in the body of a female does process Z occur?

c) On the chart, indicate the position of parents and gametes

d) Name the process that leads to addition or loss of one or more chromosomes.

e) State three benefits of polyploidy in plants to a farmer

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7. In mice the allele for black fur is dominant to the allele for brown fur. What
percentage offsprings would have brown fur from a cross between heterozygous
black mice and brown mice? Show your working. Use letter B to represent the allele
for black colour
8. (a) What is meant by the term allele?
(b) Explain how the following occur during gene mutation:
(i) Deletion (1 mark)
(ii) Inversion (1 mark)
(c) What is a test- cross?
9. In maize the gene for purple colour is dominant to the gene for white colour. A pure
breeding maize plant with purple grains was crossed with a heterozygous plant.
(a) (i) Using letter G to represent the gene for purple colour, work out the
genotype ratio of the offspring
(ii) State the phenotype of the offspring
(b) What is genetic engineering?
(c) What is meant by hybrid vigour?
10. A pea plant with round seeds was crossed with a pea plant that had Wrinkled seeds
the gene for round seeds is dominant over that for wrinkled seeds. Using letter R to
represent the dominant gene state:
(a) The genotype of parents if plant with round seed was heterozygous
(b) The gametes produced by the round and wrinkled seed parents

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 (c) The genotype and phenotype of F1 generation. Show your working
11. In humans, hairly ears is controlled by a gene on the Y Chromosomes.
(a) Using letter YH to represents the chromosome carrying the gene for hairly ears,
work out a cross between a hairy eared man and his wife.
(b) (i) What is the probability of the girls having hairly ears?
(ii)Give reason for your answer in (b (i) above.
(c) Name two disorders in humans that are determined by sex linked genes
12. When pure breeding black guinea pigs were crossed with pure breeding white
guinea pigs, the offspring had a coat with black and white patches
a) Using letter G to represent the gene for black coat colour and letter H for
white coat colour, work out the genotypic ratio of F2
b) State the phenotypic ratio of F2
c) (i) Name the term used when two alleles in heterozygous state are fully
expressed phenotypically in an organism
d) Give an example of a trait in human beings where the condition whose term
is named in (c) (i) above express itself
13. A bean plant can bear either terminal or axial flowers. When a terminal flowered
plant (T) is pollinated with an axial flowered plant (t), the offsprings produced were
200 terminal flowered and 210 axial flowered. Identify the genotypes of the parents
14. (a) Who is an albino?
(b) Explain the problems faced by albinos under the following guidelines

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 i. Vision
ii. Exposure to light
(c) Give the genotypes of the offspring produced when an albino male marries a
female who is heterozygous to albinism

15.(a)Explain the following Mendelian traits and their effect to human being

i. Haemophilia
ii. Sickle cell anaemia

(b) In a certain species, two homozygous individuals mated and the resulting offsprings in
the F1 generation was heterozygous with the same phenotype. However in the second filial
generation a new heterozygous phenotype was obtained which looked different from the
parent in F1. With the help of genetic diagrams explain how individuals with different
phenotype in F2 generation were obtained

DIHYBRID INHERITANCE
 This is the inheritance of two characters controlled by different genes
 DIHYBRID CROSS – This is the cross which involves two characters at a time
 Mendel did a dihybrid cross by crossing pure breeds of tall plants with purple flowers
and dwarf plants with white flowers

Example 1

Mendel crossed a true breeding plant grown from round yellow seeds (RRYY) with a true
breeding plant grown from a wrinkled seeds (rryy) as follows
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F1 generation are all round yellow

 Self - fertilization of round yellow plant (RrYy)

RrYy x RrYy

RY rY Ry ry
RY RRYY RrYY RRYy RrYy
Ry RRYy RrYy RRyy Rryy
ry RrYy rrYy Rryy rryy
rY RrYY rrYY RrYy rrYy

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 From the above cross

Round yellow = 9

Round green = 3

Wrinkled yellow = 3

Wrinkled green = 1

Therefore the basic dihybrid cross ration = 9:3:3:1

 From the above cross Mendel established the second law of inheritance

MENDEL’S SECOND LAW OF INHERITANCE (THE LAW OF INDEPENDENT

ASSORTMENT)

 It states that

“Any one of pair of characteristics may combine with any one of

another pair”

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VARIATION AMONG ORGANISMS
 Variation is the possession of characteristics that are different among members of the
same species
 Organisms in the same species have the same number of chromosomes and genes in their
nucleus of somatic cells and have the characteristics that are alike
 However, the combination of these chromosomes into pair is different among organisms
resulting into variation

TYPES OF VARIATION
1. CONTINOUS VARIATION
 It is also called quantitative variation
 This is the type of variation which has unbroken range of phenotypes OR
 Is the variation which show intermediate forms between the two extremes, that means
there is no clear cut distinction between the extremes
 Continuous variation are more common in population than discontinuous variations
 Example height, mass, volume, length, intelligence quotient (IQ), skin colour, hair
colour and leaf size in plants
2. DISCONTINOUS VARIATION
 This is the type of variation which shows an intermediate forms, that is there is a clear
- cut distinction from on another OR
 Is the type of variation in which individuals show clear cut differences with no
intermediates
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  Example sex, blood group, albinism, tongue rolling, finger prints, rhesus factor and
ear lobe

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTINOUS AND DISCONTINOUS VARIATION

CONTINOUS VARIATION DISCONTINOUS VARIATION
Show no clear –cut distinction Shows clear cut distinction
Shows intermediate forms No intermediate forms
Characters are influenced by Characters are not influenced by
environment environment
Usually due to interaction of several Limited to fewer alleles
genes

CAUSES OF VARIATION AMONG ORGANISMS

1. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
 The phenotype is influenced greatly by environmental factors during
development. The following are the environmental causes of variation
i. Food
 Lack of certain type of food leads to deficiency diseases such as kwashiorkor and
marasmus
 The deficiency diseases will cause the difference I some parameters between the
affected and the normal individuals
ii. Light intensity
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  It affects the growth of green plants which is used during photosynthesis
iii. Pathogens
 Pathogens causes diseases in organisms making the individuals different
from the non-diseased ones
2. GENETIC FACTORS
i. Meiosis
 During meiosis there is segregation of pair of chromosomes producing a
wide variety of different gametes
 Also during prophase there is crossing over of homologous chromosomes
leading into variation
ii. Fertilization
 During fertilization the nuclei of the male and female gametes fuse which
result into gene recombination
 The mixing of genes results into producing the offsprings which are
different from their parents
iii. Mutation
 These are mostly harmful or lethal and few beneficial
 The individual which has undergone mutation is called a mutant which
appears different from the rest of a population
iv. Geographical isolation

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  Species are not uniformly distributed but occurs in small isolated population hence
resulting into different gene pool of organisms of the same species

TYPES OF CHARACTERS
i. Acquired characters
 These are traits or characters which an individual develops as a result of
adaptation to the environment
 Example body weight and walking style
ii. Inherited(heritable) characters
 These are characteristics that are passed on from the parents to the
offsprings through sexual reproduction

MUTATION
 Is an unpredicted change in the genes or chromosomes of an organism OR
 Is a sudden change in genetic constitution of an organism

CAUSES OF MUTATION
 There are various factors that cause mutation which are called mutagens
MUTAGENS (MUTAGENIC AGENTS)
 These are factors that cause mutation
 An individual affected by mutation is called mutant

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TYPES OF MUTAGENS

i. Physical mutagens
 This involves the following
 Temperature
 High energy radiations like x-rays, gamma rays, alpha particles and cosmic rays
 Non – ionizing radiations like UV- rays
ii. Chemical mutagens
 This involves the following
 Acids like nitrous acids
 Alkylating agents like nitrogen mustards
 Heavy metals like mercury

CAUSES OF MUTATION

 Radiations from the sun

 High energy radiations like x-rays
 Non – ionizing radiations like UV-rays
 Temperature
 Chemicals like mercury

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 TYPES OF MUTATIONS
 There are two types of mutations which are chromosomal mutation and gene mutation
i. CHROMOSOMAL MUTATION
 This is a type of mutation which is caused by the change in structure and number of
chromosomes
 Example Down’s syndrome and polyploidy
ii. GENE OR POINT MUTATION
 This is the types of mutation which occurs as a result of a change in gene sequence in a
nucleotide of a DNA
 The gene in which mutation occurs is called MUTANT GENE
 Example sickle cell anaemia, albinism and haemophilia are resulted from gene
mutation
FORMS OF GENE MUTATION
i. Deletion – this occurs when a segment of nucleotide is removed/missing from a
segment of a DNA
ii. Insertion – this occurs when one or more nucleotide are added in a DNA
segment
iii. Inversion –this occurs when one or more nucleotide is reversed
iv. Substitution – this occurs when one segment of a DNA is replaced by the other

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 v. Duplication – this occurs when a nucleotide of a DNA sequence is replicated

SIGNIFICANCE/IMPORTANCE OF MUTATION
 Most mutations are useful in production of hornless cattle
 They are sources of variation in a population
 Spontaneous mutation can result into drug resistance. Example bacteria may be
resistant to penicillin
 Mutation can be induced at a desired region to create an appropriate mutant
especially to produce vaccines

DISADVANTAGES OF MUTATION
 Most mutations results into genetic disorders like albinism and sickle-cell anaemia
 Mutation can lead to decrease in ability of organism to resist infections

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GENETIC DISORDERS
 These are inherited abnormalities resulted from problems within the genes or
chromosomes
 These disorders are inherited from one generation to another
EXAMPLES OF GENETIC DISORDERS
i. DOWN’S SYNDROME (MONGOLISM)
 It is also called trisomy 21
 This is the genetic disorder in which there are three copies of chromosomes
number 21 instead of normal two
 Therefore a person with Down’s syndrome has 47 chromosomes in his/her
body cells

SYMPTOMS OF DOWN’S SYNDROME

 Reduced resistance to infections

 Mental retardation
 Thick tongue
 Cardiac malfunctioning
 Slit eye appearance
 Short body with stubby fingers

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EFFECTS OF DOWN’S SYNDROME

 People with Down’s syndrome are at a high risk of getting diseases like heart diseases
 They also may suffer from discrimination in the societies
NB: children of old parents for example a mother with 40 years of age and a father
above 55 years increase a chance of getting this disease

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 ii. KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME
 This is a genetic disorder resulted from a failure of X– chromosome to separate during
meiosis
 An individual with this condition has two X- chromosomes and Y chromosome (XXY)

SYMPTOMS

 Males are typically tall

 Small testes and breasts development
 Infertility
 People with such disorders are outwardly males but also may have female features
iii. TURNER’S SYNDROME
 This is the genetic disorder in women caused by the absence of the second sex
chromosomes (XO)
 Therefore individuals have 45 (44 + XO) chromosomes instead of 46 (44 + XX)

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SYMPTOMS OF TURNER’S SYNDROME

 Lack of ovaries and menstruation cycle

 Sterility
 Lack of secondary sexual characteristics
 Physical and mental abnormalities

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 iv. SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA
 This is a genetic disorder caused by gene mutation where by the normal haemoglobin
are replaced by abnormal haemoglobin
 In sickle cell condition one amino acid (the glutamic acid) is replaced by another amino
acid (the valine) forming the haemoglobin S denoted as HBS

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  When the oxygen concentration is low causes the red blood cells to assume a sickle or
crescent shape
 The sickle shape of red blood cells affects the oxygen transportation

EFFECTS OF SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA

 It threaten the life because causes loss of blood

INHERITANCE OF SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA

 The gene responsible for sickle –cell anaemia has two possible alleles as follows
 HbA – allele for normal blood
 HbS – allele for sickle cell anaemia

Possible genotypes
HbAHbA – homozygous normal blood
HbAHbS – Heterozygous normal blood (sickle cell trait)
HbSHbS – Sickle cell anaemia

Example

A cross between heterozygous normal woman with a heterozygous normal man. What will be
the results of the offsprings?

Genotypes
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Both parents = HbAHbS

¼ -perfect normal, ½ sickle cell trait and ¼ sickle cell

GENERAL CAUSES OF GENETIC DISORDERS

 Addition or loss of chromosomes
 Change in the gene sequence of a DNA

EFFECTS OF GENETIC DISORDERS

 Genetic disorders may cause death. Example most sickle cell victims die young
 They result into mental abnormalities example Down’s syndrome
 They result into physical abnormalities like thick tongue and infertility
 They result into reduced resistance to infections by the body for example Down’s
syndrome

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 APPLICATION OF GENETICS IN DAILY LIFE
1. GENETICS IS APPLIED IN PLANT AND ANIMAL BREEDING
 This involves the cross of different or similar species of plants and animals in order to
obtain the desirable characteristics from offsprings through selective breeding
SELECTIVE BREEDING
 This is the process of crossing organisms in order to produce offsprings with the
desirable characteristics
TYPES OF SELECTIVE BREEDING
i. Inbreeding
 This is the process of crossing closely related individuals to maintain the desired
characters
 Example most domesticated animals and plants
 The advantage of inbreeding is that it maintain the genetic materials of an individual
and characters become similar to those of the parents
 The disadvantage is that it leads to weak and weak generation and the inheritable
diseases are easily passed to the offsprings
ii. Outbreeding
 This is the process of crossing distant related individuals
 Outbreeding does not only produce offsprings with modified characters but also
decreases the chance of getting undesirable features from generation to
generation

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  The offsprings produced after out breeding is called HYBRID

HYBRID VIGOUR

 This is the superiority reached in offspring having the desirable traits of both
parents
 Example a hybrid produced by outbreeding is a variety of cattle called zebu which
is produced after a cross of Heifer bull and Boron bull
2. BLOOD TRANSFUSSION
 This is the transfer of blood from one person called the donor to the blood stream
of another person called the recipient
 Before blood transfusion blood is tested to determine the blood group and the
rhesus factor
 If the blood of the donor is not compatible with the blood of the recipient
agglutination occurs
 Also the ABO blood group system and the rhesus factor are used to settle
parentage disputes
3. GENETIC COUNSELLING
 Genetic information are used to advise couples who have hereditary disorders
about the chances of the children inheriting the disorders like haemophilia and
albinism
 Genetic information could also be used in choosing marriage partners

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4. GENETIC ENGINEERING
 This is alteration of an organism’s genetic/hereditary materials to reduce
undesirable characteristics to produce new desirable characteristics
 The study of genetic engineering is called BIOTECHNOLOGY

APPLICATION OF GENETIC ENGINEERING

i. It is applied in agriculture
 Agricultural plants are one of the most frequently cited example of GMO
(Genetically modified organisms)
 In plants the genes are modified to increase crop yields, reduced price of food or
drug production and to increase disease resistance
ii. In tissue transplantation
 Human organs such as liver, spleen and others can be produced through genetic
engineering
iii. In human gene therapy
 Normal genes can be introduced into the embryo to cure a genetic disorders such
as sickle cell anaemia
iv. Industrial application
 Microorganisms have been engineered to manufacture a wide variety of proteins
in the body such as fibrinogen needed by the people suffering from haemophilia
 Production of genetically modified organisms which are used to produce strains
that can decompose wastes from homes and industries
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  Pure insulin can be produced in large quantity by transferring a gene that codes
for insulin production in humans to the Escherichia coli bacteria
v. In medicines
 Vaccines can be produced from genetic materials of viruses
 Human growth hormones, somatotropin hormones can be extracted from
pituitary gland of a dead bodies
vi. Biological warfare
 Microorganisms that cause diseases have been used in wars
 The microorganisms are cloned and thrown into the territory of the enemy
 Example the bacteria Bacillus anthrax which causes anthrax in cattle, goats and
sheep which may cause death in 3 days
 Other examples are Vibrio cholera, Salmonella typhi and Clostridium tetani

NB:
CLONING (GENE CLONING)

 The term cloning means making exact multiple copies of DNA or a cell or an
organism.
 For example when a single bacterium reproduces asexually on a petri dish, a colony of
cells results. Each member of the colony is a clone of the original cell.
 Through biotechnology, bacteria now produce cloned copies of human DNA.

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DISADVANTAGES OF GENETIC ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY
i. The process of genetic engineering such as selective breeding needs a lot of skills,
knowledge and time to get the strains of the desirable qualities
ii. Since genetic engineering involves changing the genetic makeup of an individual, it
may lead into unpredictable changes
iii. Some people may feel that their natural human beings status is abused
iv. Some practice of genetic engineering may not be in line with ethical and moral values
of human being especially religious beliefs

EXERCISE
1. (a) State Mendel’s first law of inheritance
(b) Children have several feature resembling their parents. Explain the processes by
which particular traits are passed from the parents to the offsprings
2. 400 rose plant with red petals were crossed with the same plant species having red petals
with some white spots. The first filial generation had the following phenotypic
proportion 290 plants with red petals: 110 plants with red petals with some white spots
i. Using properly defined genetic symbols, show all the crosses that lead to the
formation of the above plants and write a simplified ratio for the plant
ii. What is the genotypic ratio of the first filial generation?

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REFERENCE

Mustapha A. J et.al (2008), New essentials of biology book 4, Nyambari Nyangwine publishers

Mwaniki J.M and Geofrey G.G (2013), Fundamentals of biology Form 4 new edition, Long horn
publishers

Oxford (2013), Biology for secondary schools form 4, oxford university press

Taylor D.J et.al (2016), Biological science third edition, Cambridge university press

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