Genetics: Mendel and Beyond

Ch. 11.1 – 11.3

DNA Review

https://youtu.be/8m6hHRlKwxY
•Start at 1:55
 Gamete Formation (Meiosis)
• a type of cell division that results in four daughter cells each
with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell
The Work of Gregor Mendel
• Genetic Inheritance - living things pass their
DNA to their offspring
• Genetics – the scientific study of heredity

• Gregor Mendel
▫ Austrian monk, born in 1800’s
▫ Studied garden peas
▫ High school teacher
Mendel’s P Cross
• Experiment: manipulated the fertilization of peas
▫ Fertilization – process in which male and female
gametes join during sexual reproduction, forming a
zygote cell
▫ Studied results of crosses for 7 different traits (specific
characteristic that varies among organisms)
• 
Plant parts - Reproduction
Mendel’s P Cross
• P generation – parent plants
▫ True breeding - if self-pollinated, produced
phenotypically identical offspring

Parent (P) cross

Mendel’s F1 Cross
• F1 generation were cross-pollinated
▫ Creating Hybrids – offspring of crosses between
parents with contrasting traits
F2 – second filial generation
Data from Crosses - Summary
• Results:
▫ No blending of contrasting
traits
▫ One of the forms of the
trait ‘disappeared’ in F1
▫ Both traits seen in a ratio
of 3:1
▫ (Dominant:Recessive) in
the F2
▫ https://youtu.be/cWt1RFnWNzk
Mendelian Principles
• Inheritance is determined by factors (genes –
segments of DNA) passed from parents  offspring
▫ Mendel’s traits each were controlled by one gene w/ only
two alleles
 Alleles – different forms of the same gene
Mendelian Principles
• Principle of Dominance – some alleles are
dominant, others recessive
▫ Dominant alleles – mask expression of other
alleles
▫ Recessive alleles – expressed when dominant
allele is absent
Mendelian Principles

 Segregation of
Alleles
 Different alleles
for one trait
separate during
gamete formation.
purple

purple

white
Punnett Squares
 Parent’s genotypes are listed on outside of square –
showing possible alleles that can be passed to offspring
 Monohybrid Crosses – predict probabilities for inheritance
for one gene
Probability to Predict
 Used to predict the out come of genetic crosses
 ½ x ½ x ½ = 1/8

Example:
Heads = dominant
Tails = recessive
Examples of Non-Mendelian Inheritance
 Incomplete Dominance –
heterozygotes display an intermediate
phenotype

 Codominance – heterozygotes display

both phenotypes
Independent Assortment

http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/an
imations/content/mendelindassort.html
Independent Assortment
 Dihybrid Crosses – predict probabilities for inheritance for two
separate genes
 Mendel’s Principle of Independent Assortment – alleles for different
genes separate independently during meiosis
 Only true when the genes are on separate chromosomes!
 http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/mendelindassort.h
tml
Examples of Non-Mendelian Inheritance
 Multiple Alleles – many possible alleles for one
gene (each individual only contains 2!) allow for
more than 2 phenotypes
 Polygenic Traits – many genes interact to determine
one trait; also allows for many possible phenotypes
 Sex linked Traits – gene located on the X or Y
chromosomes
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4vsio8TZrU
More Recent than Mendel…
 Thomas Hunt Morgan (1900’s)
 Studied Drosophila melanogaster
 Cheap, small, reproduced quickly,
relatively simple genome

 Principles of genetics apply to ALL

living things
 Phenotypes are determined by genotype
and the environment