Inheritance

Contents
Variation Chromosomes and DNA Monohybrid inheritance Selection Genetic engineering

Variation
Living organisms vary in many ways. E.g. humans all have the same general shape and the same set of body organs, but some features differ from one person to the next, such as: height, weight, eye and hair colour, shape of nose, language, knowledge and skills.

Within a species there is usually a great deal of variation between individuals

These snails are all the same species (Cepaea nemoralis) but they vary considerably

What variations can you see ?

There are variations in skin colour, hair colour, hair curliness, eye colour and sex

Variation
Variations may be inherited or acquired Inherited variations result from the activity of genes. They are genetically controlled Genetically controlled variations cannot be altered For example, hair colour, skin colour, blood group, finger prints and sex cannot be changed naturally

Variation
Acquired characteristics result from an individuals activities or nutrition or from environmental conditions during a lifetime Examples of acquired conditions in humans are* language obesity athletic skills mental skills body building sun tan Acquired characteristics cannot be inherited

Two types of variations

Continuous and Discontinuous

Continuous variation
Characteristics that show continuous variation have different features: 1. Every organism within one species shows the characteristic, but to a different extent. The characteristic can have any value within a range. 2. These characteristics are usually quantitative they can be measured. 3. They result from several genes acting together, or from genes and the environment.

Examples
Height Weight Foot length Intelligence Chest circumference Body mass Hand span

Normal distribution curve

The figures can be made to fit a smooth curve because there are many intermediates

Discontinuous variation
Characteristics that show discontinuous variation have several features: An organism either has the characteristic or it doesnt have it. There is no range of these characteristics between extremes. These characteristics are usually qualitative they cannot be measured. They are the result of genes only they are not affected by environment.

Examples
Your ABO blood group is either A, B, AB or O Presence or absence of ear lobe Gender Eye colour Genetic diseases such as colour blindness, albinism, sickle cell anaemia

The figures cannot be made to fit a smooth curve because there are no intermediates

Blood group

Chromosome structure
Chromosomes are thread like structures found inside the nucleus of a cell. A human cell nucleus contains 46 chromosomes. Each chromosomes contains a long molecules of DNA

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid

DNA is subdivided into segments called genes

Genes
A gene is a unit of inheritance. Genes may be copied and passed on to the next generation

Location of genes
The position of a gene on a chromosome is known as the locus. In sexually reproducing organisms, most cells have a homologous pair of chromosomes (one from each parent) Chromosomes from a homologous pair have genes that control the same trait at the same locus.

Alleles
Genes occupying the same position (locus) on homologous chromosomes are called alleles. Alleles are alternative forms of a gene Any one individual can only have a maximum of two alleles for a given gene. There may be more than two alleles in a population, e.g blood groups A, B, O

Homozygous and heterozygous

Alleles are always represented by letters. Since there are two alleles for a given gene, a gene is represented by a pair of letters. E.g. AA, Aa and aa When the two letters are same, they are termed homozygous (AA, aa) When they are different they are termed heterozygous (Aa)

Dominant and recessive

When an allele expresses itself both in homozygous and heterozygous conditions, it is said to be dominant. A dominant allele is always represented by a capital letter. When an allele is always expressed when present in homozygous state and suppressed in the heterozygous state it si said to be recessive. A recessive allele is always represented by a small letter.

E.g A is dominant, a is recessive

Homologous chromosomes

Phenotype and genotype

The genetic constitution of an organism is called its genotype. The external appearance of an organism is known as its phenotype. E.g. For a plant producing purple flowers genotype = PP and Phenotype = purple.