Biology 40S Mr.

Anderson

Research Essay Exceptions to Mendels Laws

[Type the document subtitle]

Kenny Hong 11/21/2011

Research Essay Exceptions to Mendels Laws By Kenny Hong In this essay, it will outline some interesting facts about some exceptions to Mendels Laws. There are many exceptions to his Laws but only 3 will be outlined in this essay. Epistasis, Pleiotropism, and Mosaicism are going to be the main points of this essay and will be explained further in the next few paragraphs. Epistasis is where one gene masks or hides the effects of other genes. The genes that interfere with the other genes are called epistatic genes. An example of epistasis is the coat colour of dogs. Lets say the dominant colour is black and uses the gene B. The recessive colour will be brown and uses the recessive gene b. There are epistatic genes that will effect these genes that are on another chromosome, these genes are W that will prevent the colour from showing up the recessive gene w will not prevent colour. Any dog with the genes WW or Ww will be albino and have a white coat colour, if the genes are ww, then the colour will be expressed. Pleiotropism is a phenomenon where a single gene influences more than one phenotype. If that single gene, also known as a pleotropic gene, mutates, it may have an effect on some or all of the traits it influences. An example that best describes pleiotropism is the human disease PKU or Phenylketonuria. PKU is caused by a single gene that codes for phenylalanine hydrolase enzyme which converts one amino acid, phenylalanine to tyrosine, which is another amino acid. This mutation will result in little or no conversion of the phenylalanine to tyrosine. This will increase phenylalanine concentrations to dangerous levels, causing damage to an individuals body, which can result in mental retardation, reduced hair and skin pigmentation. Mosaic or Mosaicism is a form of aneuploidy which is an abnormality where the number of chromosomes does not match the exact multiple of the haploid number. Mosaicism creates patches of cells with a variety of different numbers of chromosomes. In early embryo development, a simple nondisjunction can create two aneuploid cells which go through the mitosis cycle and create more aneuploid cells. The magnitude of the mosaicism depends on how early the chromosome errors occur. If a nondisjunction happens early in the development, then most cells in the individual are affected. Most mosaic mutations are lethal but an example a less lethal mutation would be a mild version of Klinefelters syndrome called 46/47 XY/XXY Mosaic where some of the individuals cells are XY chromosomes and some are XXY chromosomes, this is classified as somatic mosaicism where different genotypes show up from a single fertilized egg. These only outline some exceptions to Mendels laws. There are more that can be fun and interesting to research and there may also be many more exceptions that are unexplained and puzzling, there might be some we dont even know about. As we evolve, our genes evolve, and as our genes evolve, new exceptions are made to the laws Mendel created many years ago. This essay will end with a quote from Heroes: This force, evolution, is not sentimental. Like the earth itself, it knows only the hard facts of life's struggle with death. All you can do is hope and trust that when you've served its needs faithfully, there may still remain some glimmer of the life you once knew. Mohinder Suresh

Bibliography
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