11.

2 Complex Patterns of
Inheritance
NWRC
Bio 30
 Incomplete dominance
• Incomplete dominance is a type of
inheritance in which both alleles for a
specific trait are expressed. This results in
a combined phenotype (expressed
physical trait).
Incomplete Dominance
• For example, if you cross
pollinate red and white
snapdragon plants, both
colors are expressed in
the offspring. The
resulting offspring are
pink.
• It's like mixing paints, red
+ white will make pink.
Red doesn't totally block
(dominate) the pink,
instead there is
incomplete dominance,
and we end up with
something in-between.
 Incomplete Dominance
• A hybrid organism shows a third
phenotype --- not the usual "dominant"
one & not the "recessive" one ... but a
third, different phenotype.
• With incomplete dominance we get a
blending of the dominant & recessive traits
so that the third phenotype is something in
the middle (red x white = pink).
Cross Red flowers with white
flowers
Cross a pink flower with another
pink flower
 Codominance
• Codominance is very similar to
incomplete dominance.
• In COdominance, the "recessive" &
"dominant" traits appear together in
the phenotype of hybrid organisms.
 Codominance
• A very common phenotype used in
questions about codominance is roan fur
in cattle. Cattle can be red (RR = all red
hairs), white (WW = all white hairs), or
roan (RW = red & white hairs together). A
good example of codominance.
Another example of codominance is
human blood type AB, in which two types
of protein ("A" & "B") appear together on
the surface of blood cells.
Co-dominance Cross a red cow
with a white bull
Multiple Alleles
Cross Homozygous type A blood
with Homozygous type B blood
Cross Heterozygous type A blood
with Homozygous type B blood
Cross Heterozygous type A blood
with Heterozygous type B blood
 Cross type O blood with
Heterozygous type B blood
Cross type O blood with type AB
blood
Multiple Alleles
Rhesus
Another characteristic of blood is
Rhesus factor or Rh factor. Someone
either has or does not have the Rh
factor on the surface of their red blood
cells. This is indicated as + or -.. Type
O+ blood is most common, though in
some areas type A prevails, and there
are other areas in which as many as
80 percent of the people are type
B.Rh factor is named after the rhesus
monkey where the factor was first
identified.
 Colour of Rabbits
• In rabbits 4 alleles can code for coat
colour
• C (dominant codes for full colour –black)
• cch (chinchilla which is dominant to ch
• ch (Himalayan which is dominant over c)
• and c (recessive –codes for white or
albino)
 Epistasis
• Epistasis - the interaction between two
or more genes to control a single
phenotype. Epistasis takes place when
the action of one gene is modified by one
or several other genes, which are
sometimes called modifier genes. The
gene whose phenotype is expressed is
said to be epistatic
• BB = black Lab, no chocolate gene
Bb = black Lab, carries chocolate gene
bb = chocolate Lab, no black gene
• Yellow is produced by the presence of a
recessive epistatic gene which has the
effect of masking the the black or
chocolate genes.
EE = no yellow gene
Ee = yellow carrier but appears either
black or chocolate
ee = yellow Lab
 So....

• EEBB =Basic Black

(BB)
EEBb =Black that
carries Choc. (Bc)
So....

• EeBB =Black that

carries Yellow (By)
EeBb =Black that
carries Yellow and
chocolate (Byc)
 So....

• eeBB =Yellow (Yy)

[does not carry
chocolate]
eeBb =Yellow that
carries Chocolate
(Yc)

• eebb =yellow ~ No
Black Pigment
(NBP)
So....

• EEbb =Chocolate
(CC) [does not carry
yellow]
Eebb =Chocolate
that carries yellow
(Cy)
Practice – what colour is each dog?

EEBB eeBB EEBb

EEbb

Eebb eeBb EeBB

EeBb
 Practice

EEBB eeBB EEBb

EEbb

Eebb eeBb EeBB

EeBb
Sex determination (click)
• There are 2 types of
sex chromosomes X
and Y
• Females have double
xx
• Males have XY
• Note the punnett
squares shows why
sex is generally pretty
50-50
 Dosage Compensation
• Dosage compensation is a genetic
regulatory mechanism which operates to
equalize the phenotypic expression of
characteristics determined by genes on
the X chromosome so that they are
equally expressed in the human XY male
and the XX female. ..
Dosage Compensation Continued
• calico cats are always
female
• (almost true, some XXY
males have been calico)
• one X chromosome
carries the gene for black
coat color
• the other X chromosome
carries the gene for
yellow coat color
Dosage Compensation Continued
• in 64-cell embryos,
one of each pair of X
chromosomes and its
genes are randomly
silenced
• daughter cells inherit
active or inactive X
chromosomes,
creating a cat with
patches of coat color
 Sex Linked Traits
• (also called x linked traits)
• Since males have only one X
chromosome they are affected by sex
linked traits more often than females
would be.
Colour Blindness
 X-linked trait – Colour Blindness
Father is colour blind mother is a
carrier
 X-linked trait – Colour Blindness
Father is normal mother is a carrier
 X-linked trait – Colour Blindness
Father is colour blind mother is
normal
Hemophilia
 Polygenic Traits
• Since Mendel's time, our knowledge of the
mechanisms of genetic inheritance has grown
immensely. It is now understood that inheriting
one allele can, at times, increase the chance of
inheriting another or can affect how and when a
trait is expressed in an individual's phenotype.
Likewise, there are degrees of dominance and
recessiveness with some traits. The simple
rules of Mendelian inheritance do not apply in
these and other exceptions.
 Polygenic Traits
• Some traits are determined by the
combined effect of more than one pair of
genes. These are referred to as polygenic
, or continuous, traits. An example of this
is height. Human skin, hair, and eye
colour are also polygenic traits because
they are influenced by more than one
allele at different loci. The result is the
perception of continuous gradation in
the expression of these traits.
 1.
• In chapter 10 we just looked at simple
dominant/ recessive problems – in this
chapter we are looking at complex
inheritance involving co-dominance,
incomplete dominance and sex-linked
traits
 2.
• Epistasis is when one allele masks or
hides the expression of another allele.
• It differs from dominance in that a
recessive allele could potentially mask a
dominant allele of another gene pair (as in
the case of the e allele making the B in
Labradors )
 3.
• If the daughter has type O then
she had to receive a recessive
allele from each parent so both
parents have to be heterozygous.
One is Iai the other is Ibi
 4.
• Since twin are genetically identical
scientists can hypothesize that traits that
are similar are inherited and traits that are
different are likely the result of
environmental factors.