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LESSON ONE: GENETICS; monohybrid and dihybrid

Genetics is the study of heredity and variation

of inherited characteristics.
Gregor Mendel - father of genetics / first to closely examine principles of
heredity.

For Gregor Mendel, pea plants were fundamental in allowing him to understand the
means by which traits are inherited between parent and offspring. He chose pea
plants because they were easy to grow, could be bred rapidly, and had several
observable characteristics, like petal color and pea color.

in addition to recording how the plants in each generation looked, Mendel counted
the exact number of plants that showed each trait. Strikingly, he found very
similar patterns of inheritance for all seven features he studied:

One form of a feature, such as tall, always concealed the other form, such as
short, in the first generation after the cross. Mendel called the visible form
the dominant trait and the hidden form the recessive trait.

In the second generation, after plants were allowed to self-fertilize

(pollinate themselves), the hidden form of the trait reappeared in a minority
of the plants. Specifically, there were always about 3 plants that showed the
dominant trait (e.g., tall) for every 1 plant that showed the recessive trait
(e.g., short), making a 3:1 ratio.

Mendel also found that the features were inherited independently: one feature,
such as plant height, did not influence inheritance of other features, such as
flower color or seed shape.

KEYWORDS:
1. Allele – Different form of a trait
2. Genotype – The gene make-up of a trait expressed as a set of Capital and lower
case letters
3. Phenotype – The physical presentation of the genetic expression
4. Dominant – The trait that expresses itself over another
5. Recessive – The trait that is masked or hidden by the dominant trait.
6. Homozygous – Having the same two alleles for a genetic trait.
7. Heterozygous – Having two different alleles for a genetic trait.
8. Homozygous Dominant – FF
9. Homozygous Recessive – ff
10. Heterozygous - Ff

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 11. True breed – Offspring having the same homozygous trait as the parent
12. Hybrid – Offspring having one allele from each homozygous parent
13. Carrier – Offspring having a recessive trait masked by a dominant trait that
may express itself in
future generations
14. P – Parent generation – The first generation crossed
15. F – Filial generation – The generations that follow the parent generation.
Subscripts show which
generation F1; F2; F3

MENDEL'S LAWS
Rule of Unit Factors in Pairs

Genetics characters are controlled by unit factors that exist in pairs in an

individual, Each contains a pair of genes for each trait (allele)

Principle of Dominance & Recessiveness

one unit factor in a pair may mask the expression of the other

Law of Segregation

two alleles of one trait segregate from each other during gamete formation

Law of Independent Assortment

when more than one pair of characters are involved in a cross , factor pairs
assort independent of each other.

SOLVING PROBLEMS IN GENETICS.

1. Determine what kind of problem you are trying to solve

2. Determine letters you will use to specify traits

3. Determine the parents genotypes

4. Make your punnett square and make gametes

5. complete cross and determine possible offspring.

6. determine what is being asked: genotypic ratios, phenotypic ratios,

percentages.

Punnett Square

1. Punnett Square – a visual presentation of possible traits of offspring

a. First you make a 2 X 2 box
b. Put the two set of parental alleles above and next to the punnett square. (one

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 pair from
mom and one pair from dad)
c. Drop and cross the alleles from each parent.
d. Pay attention to what each question asks.

2. To find the percentage of a phenotype or genotype:

a. Give a value of 25% to each box.
b. Add the totals in each box.
i. Ques: What is the total percentage of arched footed
children? Ans:75% = (25% + 25% + 25%)
ii. Ques: What is the percentage of children that are
homozygous recessive? Ans:25%

3. To find the ratio in a question:

a. Use colons and count boxes.
b. Write the phenotype or genotype with the number of boxes each is found in.
c. The numbers must add up to 4
i. Question. What are the possible genotypic ratios for children of heterozygous
parents? And:1AA : 2 Aa : 1 aa (1+2+1=4)

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