Inheritance
Structure of a chromosome
Chromosomes are tiny thread like structure made
up of chemical compounds called deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA)
Gene is a basic unit of inheritance that determines
the physical characteristics (phenotype) of each
individual.
For each trait, there are at least 2 genes that control
its inheritance. (Alleles)
Each came from both parents.
Dominant allele is the one that prevents another
allele from expressing itself in the phenotype of the
offspring. [represented as Uppercase letter]
Recessive allele is expressed only if a dominant
allele is not present. [represented as lowercase
letter]
Black – dominant (BB or Bb)
White – recessive (bb)
Monohybrid inheritance
Inheritance involving only one pair of contrasting
characters is called monohybrid inheritance.
Done by Gregor Mendel in the middle 19th century.
Monohybrid inheritance
Mendel was the first person to give a satisfactory
explanation of the mechanism of hereditary.
In his experiments he selected garden peas
plants of contrasting characters, i.e. height of the
plants.
He crossed tall plants (2m high) with dwarf plants
(20 to 50 cm high).
He used pure bred/true breeding plants when self
fertilized produce offspring resemble their parents.
Result of Mendel’s 1st experiment
He cross-pollinated tall plants with pollens from
the dwarf plants and vice versa.
He planted the seeds from these plants and
observed that ALL first filial generation or F1
generation were TALL (resembling only one of the
parents).
Mendel’s 2nd experiment
Mendel then allowed F1 plants to self pollinate and
produce seeds, which gave rise to Second filial
generation or F2 generation.
Of a total of 1064 plants in F2 generation; 787
were tall and 277 were dwarf [tall : dwarf = 3 : 1]
Conclusions from Mendel’s experiments
Hereditary factors are responsible for the
transmission of characters.
Each character is controlled by a pair of factors
in the cells of an organism. If the two factors
differ, only the dominant one will show its
effect.
The two factors in each pair separate or
segregate during gamete formation and each
gamete will contain only one factor. (Mendel’s
first law or law of segregation).
Conclusions from Mendel’s experiments
The fusion of gametes at fertilization restores
the diploid number in the zygote. The zygote
contains two factors for a particular character
or trait.
Gametes unite at random so that a predictable
ratio occurs among the offspring.
Example
Do it yourself
More examples
http://www.ksu.edu/biology/pob/genetics/mono.htm
Test cross/Back cross
The genotype of an organism showing the
dominant trait can be determined by crossing it
with an organism which is a homozygous recessive.
This is known as test cross.
If the organism is homozygous dominant, then all
the offspring should the dominant trait. If the
organism is heterozygous dominant, then half of
the total number of the offspring should show
dominant trait and the other half should show
recessive trait.
Incomplete dominance/co-dominance
In Mendel’s monohybrid inheritance one allele was
dominant over the other. In which the dominant
allele will be expressed in the phenotype of the
organism.
In other cases, both alleles exert their effects so the
hybrid has a phenotype that is intermediate between
that found in its parents. This is known as
incomplete dominance.
One allele is not completely dominant over the
other heterozygous condition.
Incomplete dominance
A cross between a four o’ clock plant which is
homozygous for red flowers and another plant
which is homozygous for white flowers produces
an F1 generation of plants with pink flowers.
Self pollination in the F1 hybrid produces an F2
generation of plants with red, pink and white
flowers in the ratio 1:2:1
Try it yourself
Can you do genetic diagram to show F1 and F2
generation (of the previous example)
Co-dominance in multiple allele
A condition in which the alleles of a gene in a
heterozygous pair are fully expressed thereby
resulting in offspring with a phenotype that is
neither dominant nor recessive.
Examples: ABO blood group system.
For instance, a person having A allele and B allele
will have a blood type AB.
Sex determination
In humans, one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes,
determines the sex of the child.
Female (XX) ova only have X chromosome.
Male (XY) some sperms carry X chromosome
and some carry Y chromosome.
Y chromosome is shorter than X chromosome.
Multiple alleles
In a population there may be more than two alleles
for a given trait. Such alleles are called multiple
alleles.
Example: Coat colour in rabbits – A common
example of multiple alleles is shown by the three
alleles that control coat colour in domestic rabbits.
Example 1(Multiple alleles)
C – the allele for full colour (grey)
ch – the allele for Himalayan (White coat, pink eyes
with feet, ears, tail and tip of nose black or
dark brown)
ca – the allele for albino (white)
**allele for full coat colour is dominant over the
other allele, while Himalayan is dominant over
albino.
Example 1 (Multiple alleles)
Phenotype Genotype
Full colour CC, Cch, Cca
Himalayan chch, chca
Albino caca
Grey Rabbit (Dominant trait)
CC, Cch, Cca
Himalayan Rabbit
c h c h , ch c a
Albino Rabbit
cca a
Example 2 (blood group)
There are four blood groups in human populations;
A, B, AB and O blood groups.
The alleles for A group, B group and O group may
be designated A, B, O respectively.
A and B are dominant over O
However A and B are neither dominant to each
other (incomplete dominant or co – dominant)
Example 2 (Multiple alleles)
Blood group Genotype
A AA or AO
B BB or BO
AB A B
O O O
Red blood cell compatibility table
Plasma compatibility table
Human Blood Types Listed by Frequency of Occurrence
in the U.S. General Population
Type Per Cent Note
O+ 38.5% -
A+ 34.3% -
B+ 8.6% -
O- 6.5% Universal donor
A- 5.7% -
AB+ 4.3% Universal recipient
B- 1.7% -
AB- 0.7% -
Try it out yourself
A woman whose blood group was O married a man of blood
group A.
(a) Explain how it was possible for the couple to have a child with
blood group O.
(b) What is the chance of their first child having blood group A,
assuming the father is heterozygous?
(c) What is the probability that their first two children will have
blood group A?
(d) Another couple had two children, both of group B. the father
was of group B and the mother was of group O. the father
concluded that he must homozygous BB because if he were
heterozygous, half his children would be of group O. Do you
think his conclusion is sound?
Genetic mutation
Usually genes are passed on from one generation to
another unchanged. Whenever chromosomes
duplicate, the genes which they carry also duplicate
themselves.
Heredity depends upon accurate gene duplication.
Sometimes there may be fault in the replication of
the gene or the chromosome.
Factors that can cause mutation
Meiosis, random mating and random
fertilisation are sources of genetic variation
in populations
Ionising radiation and some chemicals
increase the rate of mutation
Mutation is a spontaneous change in a gene or a
chromosome chromosomes are modified or
altered during duplication of genes.
Mutation can produce variations or differences
between individuals. Thus mutation in gametes
may result in genetic disorders in the offspring.
Mutation in somatic (body) cells may give rose to
cancers of the affected tissue.
Different types of Mutation
Chemicals –causing cancer
A few well-known carcinogens are asbestos, nickel,
cadmium, radon, vinyl chloride, benzidene, and
benzene.
Others such as Tobacco, alcohol, brown crispy
food, processed meat such as sausage,
formaldehyde, ultra violet ray, car exhaust and
pollution.
Examples: 1. Down’s syndrome
One well known example of mutation is
non-disjunction. Non-disjunction is when the
spindle fibres fail to seperate during meiosis,
resulting in gametes with one extra chromosome
and other gametes lacking a chromosome.
If this non-disjunction occurs in chromosome 21 of
a human egg cell, a condition called
Down's syndrome occurs.
Down’s syndrome
The cells possess 47 chromosomes as opposed to
the normal chromosome compliment in humans of
46.
Clinical features
Moderate to severe mental retardation,
Slanting eyes,
A broad short skull,
Broad hands and short fingers.
Other congenital abnormalities include heart
defects, oesophageal atresia and an increased
incidence of acute lymphocytic leukaemia.
Mutation – Lesson objective
Describe a gene mutation as a
random change in the base
sequence of DNA, using sickle
cell anaemia as an example
Sickle cell anemia
The replacement of just one just one base of in the
DNA molecule results in the wrong amino acid being
incorporated into two of the polypeptide chains
which make up the haemoglobin molecule.
The abnormal haemoglobin causes red blood cells to
become sickle shaped, resulting in anaemia and
possible death.
The mutant gene causing sickle cell anaemia is
recessive.
In the homozygous recessive state, the individual
suffers the diseases and frequently dies.
The individual with heterozygous condition suffers
less severe anaemia and rarely die from form the
condition.
Mutation
Mutations may arise as a result of changes in the
environmental conditions. As these changes take
place, organisms with new characteristics may arise
after many years giving rise to a new species. This
is the basis for the evolutionary theory of Darwin.
Nature selects those organisms with more
favourable characteristics to survive and reproduce
their own kind. The evolution of organisms is
believed to have occurred due to natural selection
and gene mutation.
The rate of spontaneous mutation is usually very
low. However the rate can be greatly increased by
the presence of the certain agents in the external
environment, such agents are called mutagents.
Examples; mustard gas, formaldehyde, ferrous and
manganous salts an lysergic acid dietylamide
(LSD).
Variation
Variation, in Biology, any difference
between cells, individual organisms, or groups
of organisms of any species .
It may caused either by genetic differences
(genotypic variation)
Or
By the effect of environmental factors on the
expression of the genetic potentials
(phenotypic variation).
Variation may be shown in:
physical appearance,
metabolism,
fertility,
mode of reproduction,
behaviour, learning and mental ability,
and other obvious or measurable characters.
Donax variabilis with diverse coloration
and patterning in their phenotypes.
Types of Variation
Continuous variation
Discontinuous variation
Types of variation (1) continuous variation
When the characteristics do not fall into clear – cut
classes.
These traits show a continuous variation from one
extreme to the other.
Examples; height of people, skin colour, weight,
intelligence.
These variations is brought about by the combined
effects of genes and environmental factors.
Continuous Variations
However, not all traits fall into clear cut, there are
always intermediate forms between the traits, i.e.
height of people.
Discontinuous variations
Discontinuous variations are characteristics that are
distinct, i.e. not intermediary form between
characteristics.
Examples; tongue roller or non – tongue roller.
Other examples; blood group A, B, AB or O,
attached ear lobe or free ear lobe, right handed or
left handed.
Benefits of Variation
If all the individuals of a species were genetically
identical they would be vulnerable to the same
diseases. If this were the case a single disease could
wipe out an entire species.
As a result of their genes, some individuals of a
species might have better camouflage, or be able to
run faster. These individuals are more likely to
survive. This is called the survival of the fittest.
The members of a species that survive may
reproduce. Their offspring are likely to have the
desirable characteristics of their parents. This is
how species change in evolution.
Causes of variation
Most of the characteristics that you have are passed
on to you from your parents, through genes. (sexual
reproduction)
Some characters are due to the factors around us
(environmental factor). For example diet can affect
the particular characters, such as height, weight and
other features.
Genetic mutation, which changes the genetic make
up of the organisms.
Normal distribution
Simple activity
Collect data of height of 11 Sci students.
Translate the data into a graph. What do you
observe?
Selection (natural selection)
Members of species are not identical to each other
because of sexual reproduction.
Competition for food, water and space eliminates
those who are less adapted to the surroundings.
Survivors breed and produce offspring with
features which aid survival.
Darwin’s theory on natural
selection
This is the name given to the mechanism of
evolution. In 1868 Charles Darwin and Alfred
Russle put forward a theoretical explanation of how
evolution could have occurred and caused a new
species to arise.
Evolution is change in the heritable
characteristics of biological populations
over successive generations. These
characteristics are the expressions of genes
that are passed on from parent to offspring
during reproduction.
Darwin’s theory on natural
selection
Any group of animals or plants tends to undergo variation.
More organisms of each kind are produced than possibly
obtain food to survive.
There’s a struggle for survival among many individuals
born.
Those individuals, who possess characters that give them
some advantage in the struggle in existence, will be more
likely to survive than those without them.
The survivors will pass these advantageous characters on to
the offspring, so that the successful variation will be
transmitted to the future generation.
In broad terms, individuals that are more "fit" have
better potential for survival, as in the well-known
phrase "survival of the fittest".
However, as with natural selection above, the
precise meaning of the term is much more subtle.
Modern evolutionary theory defines fitness not by
how long an organism lives, but by how successful
it is at reproducing.
If an organism lives half as long as others of its
species, but has twice as many offspring surviving
to adulthood, its genes will become more common
in the adult population of the next generation.
Fitness also depends crucially upon the
environment. Conditions like sickle-cell anemia
may have low fitness in the general human
population, but because the sickle-cell trait confers
immunity from malaria, it has high fitness value in
populations that have high malaria infection rates.
Resistance to antibiotics is increased though the
survival of individuals that are immune to the effects
of the antibiotic, whose offspring then inherit the
resistance, creating a new population of resistant
bacteria
Example (peppered moth)
Two varieties pale peppered and dark peppered
moths.
Pale peppered
moth
Dark
peppered
moth
Peppered moth rest (Biston betularia) on a birch
tree.
Originally, the vast majority of peppered moths had
light coloration, which effectively camouflaged
them against the light-colored trees and lichens
which they rested upon.
However, due to widespread pollution during the
Industrial Revolution in England, many of the
lichens died out.
The trees which peppered moths rested on became
blackened by soot, causing most of the light-
colored moths to die off due to predation.
At the same time, the dark-colored or melanic,
moths flourished because of their ability to hide on
the darkened trees.
Darwin's illustrations of beak variation in the
finches of the Galápagos Islands, which hold
13 closely related species that differ most
markedly in the shape of their beaks.
The beak of each species is suited to its
preferred food, suggesting that beak shapes
evolved by natural selection.
Artificial selection
For thousands of years, man has been trying to
produce special breeds of plants and animals to
meet his needs by selective breeding.
Selection is a method used to produce plants and
animals with desirable traits.
Improving plants by artificial selection
Suppose you are growing soyabean plants. You
want seeds that contain a high oil content. WHAT
DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD DO.
What should be done?
1. Analyse the seeds from different plants.
2. Select those plants that produce seeds with good
oil content and discard the rest (artificial
selection)
3. Allow the “good” seeds from the selected plants
to grow to maturity and again select the seeds
produced by the new plants (F1).
4. The seeds produced (with best oil content) are
selected again and used as parents for next
generation (F2).
After many generations, plants that produce seeds
with desirable qualities will be obtained.
Hybridization
Breeders, sometimes cross different varieties of
plants to produce a new and better variety. This is
called hybridization.
Example, there’s a variety of cultivated sugar cane
in Java, which is rich in sugar.
However, it is susceptible to disease and to insect
enemies.
The wild type of sugar cane has a low sugar
content but resistant to disease / pests.
The 2 varieties are crossed and produce a hybrid
that is both resistant to disease and rich in sugar.
The new variety has the desirable combination of
genes from the two parents.
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering is a laboratory technique used
by scientists to change the DNA of living
organisms.
It is a technology that enables a gene to be taken
from one organism and transferred into another.
This transfer of genes (i.e. from one organism into
another) is called gene splicing.
Gene splicing allows the precise transfer of a
desired gene. The new DNA formed is called
recombinant DNA.
Production of insulin
The traditional source of insulin is from the pancreas of
pigs or cattle.
A gene from human cell can be cut out and inserted into
a bacterial cell.
When the bacterium acquires a piece of foreign DNA, it
can produce a protein, which formerly it cannot.
The bacteria can be grown rapidly in a fermenter and
produce large amounts of the desired protein.
The bacteria secrete the protein into the medium in
which they are grown.
Steps in production of insulin
1. Locate the desired gene. It is then cut out from
its specific locus by using an enzyme called
restriction endonuclease.
2. Attach the desired gene to a plasmid. The gene
is then inserted into a plasmid. The plasmid is cut
open using restriction endonuclease. The cut ends
of the plasmid DNA and the insulin gene are
sealed together by an enzyme called ligase.
(Recombinant DNA)
3. Get the selected harmless bacteria to take up
the plasmid.
4. Large scale culture of the bacteria in a
fermenter
Animation on production of insulin
http://www.abpischools.org.uk/res/coResourceImport
/modules/hormones/en-flash/geneticeng.cfm
Application of genetic engineering
What do you think about this?
Selective breeding – Belgian blue cow
A Belgian Blue cow. The defect in the breed's
myostatin gene is maintained through linebreeding
and is responsible for its accelerated lean muscle
growth.
Selective breeding transformed teosinte's few fruitcases
(left) into modern corn's rows of exposed kernels (right)
