Patterns
of
inheritance
Sub-topic: Dominant and Recessive
Traits
Patterns of inheritance
- refer to how traits are passed down from
parents to offspring.
Gregor Mendel:
- Considered as the Father of Genetics for his work on
heredity.
- Fundamental principles of heredity, now
known as Mendelian patterns of inheritance.
Genetics: is the study of genes, genetic variation
and heredity which is how traits are passed from
parents to offspring.
Traits- are characteristics determined by genes, such
as eye color, height, or susceptibility to certain diseases.
Physical traits- refers to the physical appearance of an
organism such as eye color, skin color, hair texture, height,
body structures etc.
Personality traits- refers to the way of thinking,
feeling and behaving that characterize an individual
such as, temperance, sense of humor, talents etc .
Genes: the fundamental units of heredity.
- Segment of DNA that determine an
organism's traits.
- located on chromosomes within the cell
nucleus.
Genes are passed from parents to
offspring, with each parent contributing
half of the child's genetic makeup
Chromosomes - are thread-like structures
found in the nucleus of cells that carry genetic
information in the form of DNA.
Each cell normally contains 23 pairs of
chromosomes.
DNA- DeoxyriboNucleic Acid, is the molecule
that carries the genetic instructions for all
known living organisms and many viruses.
Alleles: different versions of a gene
found at the same location (locus) on
homologous chromosomes.
-individuals inherit 2 alleles for each
gene, one from each parent.
Dominant: The trait that has a higher
probability of occurring and more likely to
be seen or expressed and is represented by
a capital letter.
Example: AA
Recessive: The trait that has a lower probability and
may not be seen physically or masked in the
presence of a dominant gene and represented by a
small letter.
aa
Genotype: The genetic makeup of an
organism, consisting of the alleles it inherits
from its parents.
Combination of 2 alleles.
1. Homozygous: When both alleles are the same type,
either both dominant or both recessive.
- AA= tall /Homozygous dominant
- aa= short /Homozygous recessive
2. Heterozygous: When the alleles differ in type, with one
being dominant and one being recessive. Dominant alleles
will almost always mask recessive alleles.
Example: Aa
Phenotype: The observable traits or
characteristics of an organism, resulting
from its genotype and influenced by
environmental factor.
Examples: eye color, skin color, ear lobe
shape, body structure, chin shape, hair color,
nose shape, dimples,
Crossbreed- is the process of breeding 2 different breeds
to produce offspring with a combination of traits from
both parent breeds.
Monohybrid Cross: A genetic cross involving only one trait.
One trait (e.g. pea plant height) crossing a tall pea plant with a
short pea plant.
Dihybrid Cross: A genetic cross involving two different
traits.
Two traits (pea plant color and seed shape)
Crossing a plant with round, yellow seeds with a plant with
wrinkled green seeds.)
Punnett Square: A diagram used to predict the possible
genotype combinations of offspring from a genetic cross between
two parents.
How to use the Punnett square?
Step 1: Determine the genotypes of both
parents.
Step 2: Draw 2 by 2 Punnett square.
Step 3: Write the alleles for parent 1 and
parent 2 on both sides of the Punnett square.
Step 4: Fill in the squares for parent 1 and then
parent 2.
STEP 5: Interpret the result or possible
offspring.
Use a Punnett square to
predict the possible offspring.
A homozygous recessive short plant (bb) is
crossed with heterozygous tall plants (Bb).
What would be its possible offspring?
In corn plants, normal
height (NN), is dominant
to short height (nn).
Determine its phenotype
and genotype.
Family Pedigree: A diagrammatic
representation of a family's genetic
history, showing the transmission of traits
across generations.
