Year 9 Biology

Inheritance and Selection

DNA
Heredity is the process where genetic information is passed from parents to
offspring.
DNA, found in the nuclei of cells and organised into chromosomes, is the
substance that carries this information.

Structure of DNA
Genetic information is passed from one generation to the next.
This is called ..and why we resemble our parents.
The genetic information itself is contained in a complex molecule called
Scientists worked out the structure of DNA in the 1950s. Rosalind Franklin made X-
ray diffraction images of DNA.
James Watson and Francis Crick used information from one of her images to work out
a model for the structure of DNA. Work by Maurice Wilkins, a colleague of Franklin,
supported their model.

An X-ray diffraction image of DNA

Watson and Crick were able to work out how DNA was arranged and the tiny
distances between its different features. They worked out that in a DNA
molecule:
there are two strands
the strands are twisted around each other to form a
the strands are held together by bonds between base pairs

A DNA molecule showing its

base pairs, GC and AT

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 Watson, Crick and Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
for their discovery. Franklin had died before then and so could not be awarded it with
them.

Chromosomes, DNA and genes

The DNA in all of your cells is approximately two metres long, except red blood cells
which have none and sperm or eggs which only have about one metre.
Because it is so long it is very thin and coiled into structures called .
The chromosomes are found in the . of each cell.

Each cell with a nucleus contains chromosomes, which are made from DNA

Human body cells each contain . pairs of chromosomes, half of which are from
each parent.
So, human gametes (eggs and sperm) each contain 23 chromosomes. When an egg
is fertilised by a sperm, it becomes a cell with 23 pairs of chromosomes. This is why
children resemble both their parents half of their chromosomes and DNA come
from their mother, and half from their father.

A .. is a section of DNA that is responsible for a characteristic

like eye colour or blood group. Humans have around 20,000 genes. DNA makes up
genes, which makes up chromosomes. One copy of all your chromosomes is called
your genome

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DNA Quiz
1. Who produced the first X-ray pictures a) Watson
of DNA? b) Franklin
c) Wilkins
a) Crick
b) Watson 7) How many chromosomes do normal
c) Rosalind body cells have?
2. Which of these is smallest? a) 46 pairs
b) 23
a) Gene
c) 23 pairs
b) Chromosome
c) Genome 8) What is the definition of a gene?
3) Where are chromosomes found? a) One copy of all our DNA
b) A section of DNA that gives a
a) In the cytoplasm
characteristic
b) In the nucleus
c) A coiled-up, x-shaped section of
c) In the membrane
DNA
4) Which two scientists discovered the
9) How many chromosomes do sperm
shape of DNA?
and eggs have?
a) Frankin and Wilkins
a) 46 pairs
b) Darwin and Wallace
b) 23
c) Watson and Crick
c) 23 pairs
5) What shape is DNA? 10. How many genes do we have?
a) Double helix a) 23 pairs
b) X-shaped b) 23
c) Spherical c) around 20000
6) Which scientist did not win the Nobel
prize for their work on DNA?

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Species and selective breeding
Species
A species is a group of similar organisms that can breed with one another to
produce fertile offspring. For example, humans are one species and dogs are
another species.
Individuals of the same species can reproduce to make more individuals of the
same species. Two individuals belonging to different species cannot normally
reproduce together. If they do, their offspring is often infertile and unable to
reproduce.

Penguins belong to same species

Sometimes individuals from two different species can reproduce.

For example, animals called ligers are produced when a male lion and a female tiger
reproduce. Tigons are produced when a female lion and male tiger have cubs. Unlike
many young from different species, ligers and tigons can have offspring.

A liger looks like a lion but has stripes like a

tiger

Selective breeding
Pedigree dogs come in lots of different varieties.
They may be different colours and sizes, but they are all still dogs.
They are all still the same species.
The different varieties of dog have been produced through deliberate selective
breeding by dog-owners.

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 Five very different breeds of dog

These are the steps taken to select a particular feature in an organism:

1. choose individuals with the desired feature

2. let only these individuals reproduce

3. choose the offspring that have the desired feature

4. let only these individuals reproduce

5. repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have produced a variety in which all the individuals show the
desired feature

For example, suppose you wanted a variety of cow that produced a lot of milk. This is what you
could do:

1. select the cows in your herd that produce the most milk

2. let only these cows reproduce

3. select the offspring that produce the most milk

4. let only these individuals reproduce

5. keep repeating the process of selection and breeding until you produce a breed that
consistently produces a lot of milk

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 Other examples of selective breeding
The key to success is to identify the feature you want, only breed from the individuals
that have that feature, and do not allow individuals with undesirable features to
breed. Here are some examples of what selective breeding can produce:

hens that lay big eggs of a particular colour

cattle that produce lots of meat
tomato plants that produce lots of tomatoes
crops that are resistant to certain plant diseases

Quiz on species and breeding

1. Boys and girls belong to the same:
a) species
b) offspring
c) gender

2. What is one of the processes involved in selective breeding?

a) Choosing individuals from different species to breed together
b) Letting individuals reproduce without interference
c) Choosing individuals with desirable features
3. Which of these is a common example of selective breeding?
a) Cows that produce lots of meat
b) Tomato plants that produce fewer tomatoes
c) Crops that catch diseases
4. How have humans developed so many varieties of dog?
a) Evolution
b) Cloning
c) Selective breeding
5. Which is an example of selective breeding in plants?
a) Disease resistance in crops
b) Reduced yield
c) Increased pests
6. What can all organisms of the same species do?
a) Reproduce to have offspring
b) Reproduce to have fertile offspring
c) Produce lots of offspring

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7. What is special about a liger?
a) It can reproduce
b) It cannot photosynthesise
c) It cannot reproduce
8. What does infertile mean?
a) Cannot respire
b) Can reproduce
c) Cannot reproduce
9. Where is most variation found?
a) Between different species
b) Within one species
c) Between lions and tigers
10. Which organisms all belong to the same species?
a) Trees
b) Dogs
c) Sharks

What is variation?
All people are human. They belong to the same species.
Your friends and classmates may have different eye colour and hair colour. Some will
be boys and some will be girls. Some will be tall and some will be shorter.
The presence of differences between living things of the same species is
called
Variation between different species is usually greater than the variation within a
species.

Inherited and environmental variation

Some variation within a species is inherited, and some variation is due to the environment.

Inherited causes of variation

Variation in a characteristic that is a result of genetic information from the parents is
called variation.
Children usually look a little like their father, and a little like their mother, but they
will not be identical to either of their parents. This is because they get half of their
DNA and inherited features from each parent.
Each egg cell and each sperm cell contains half of the genetic information needed for
an individual. When these join at fertilisationa new cell is formed with all the genetic
information needed for an individual.

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 Here are some examples of inherited variation in humans:
eye colour
hair colour
skin colour
lobed or lobeless ears
ability to roll your tongue

Eye colour is an
example of inherited
variation

Having lobed or lobeless ears is an example of inherited variation

Gender is inherited variation too, because whether you are male or female is a result
of the genes you inherited from your parents.

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 Environmental causes of variation
Characteristics of animal and plant species can be affected by factors such as:
Climate
Diet
Accidents
Culture
lifestyle
For example, you will become heavier if you eat too much food, and you will become
lighter if you eat too little. A plant in the shade of a big tree will grow taller as it tries
to reach more light.
Variation caused by the surroundings is called environmental variation. Here are
some other examples of features that show environmental variation:
your language
your religion
flower colour in hydrangeas (these plants produce blue flowers in acidic soil and pink
flowers in alkaline soil)

Inherited and environmental causes

Some features vary because of a mixture of inherited causes and environmental
causes. For example, identical twins inherit exactly the same features from their
parents. However, if you take a pair of twins, and twin 'A' is given more to eat than
twin 'B', twin 'A' is likely to end up heavier. Weight and height are common examples
of characteristics that are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

Continuous and discontinuous variation

Some of the features of the different organisms in a species show continuous variation, and
some features show discontinuous variation.

Continuous variation
Human height is an example of continuous variation. It ranges from that of the shortest
person in the world to that of the tallest person. Any height is possible between these values.
So it is continuous variation.
For any species a characteristic that changes gradually over a range of values shows
continuous variation. Examples of such characteristics are:
height
weight
If you record the heights of a group of people and draw a graph of your results, it usually
looks something like this:

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 A bar chart to represent variation in height
The more people you measure, and the smaller the categories you use, the closer the results
will be to the curved line. This shape of graph is typical of a feature with continuous
variation. Weight would give a graph similar in shape to this.

Discontinuous variation
A characteristic of any species with only a limited number of possible values
shows discontinuous variation. Human blood group is an example of discontinuous
variation. In the ABO blood group system, only four blood groups are possible (A, B, AB or
O). There are no values in between, so this is discontinuous variation.
Here are some examples:
blood group
gender (male or female)
eye colour

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A bar chart to represent the frequency of each blood group in the population

Quiz: Variation
1. What occurs when a sperm meets an egg?
a) Variation
b) Fertilisation
c) Menstruation
2. Which of these features is an example of continuous variation?
a) Gender
b) Blood group
c) Weight
3. Which of these features is an example of discontinuous variation?
a) Length of forearm
b) Blood group
c) Height
4. Which of these features shows inherited variation?
a) Brown eyes
b) Having a scar
c) Pierced ears
5. Kathryn has bright blue hair. What kind of variation has caused this?
a) Inherited variation
b) Environmental variation
c) Inherited and environmental variation

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6. Which of these features shows environmental variation?
a) Scars
b) Blood group
c) Eye colour
7. Which of these factors can be changed by both environmental and inherited variation?
a) Tattoos
b) Weight
c) Scar
8. What shape graph do you see for many examples of continuous variation?
a) A straight line downwards
b) A straight line upwards
c) A bell-shape
9. Where is most variation found?
a) Between different species
b) Within one species
c) Between lions and tigers
10. What type of graph do we use for discontinuous variation?
a) A bell-shape
b) Bar chart
c) Line graph

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