PEDIGREE ANALYSIS  For a diploid organism with two alleles in
Pedigree
 Making use of diagrams showing the
ancestral relationships and transmission
of genetic traits over several
generations in a family
 Scientists or a genetic counselor would
find out about your family history and
make this chart to analyze.
Proband
 The individual in the pedigree that led to
the construction of the pedigree
 When the medical geneticist constructs
the pedigree, the offspring will be
labeled as the proband. Through the
pedigree, the probability of having other
affected children may be determined.
 For example,
o a couple might like to know their
chances of having a child that
has muscular dystrophy.
o So, the scientists or a genetic
counselor would find out who had
muscular dystrophy in the
mother’s and/or father’s families.
o This information would be used to
and then calculate the probability
of the couple having a child with
MD.
RELEVANT VOCABULARY
Genotype
 The gene pair an individual carries for a
particular trait symbolized with a pair of
letters.
o uppercase letter (e.g. A) for a
dominant allele
o lowercase letter (e.g. a) for the
recessive allele.
a given gene pair, genotypes may be
written as:
o Homozygous dominant. with two
dominant alleles (DD)
o Heterozygous, with a dominant
and recessive allele (Dd). The
individual will show the dominant
phenotype.
o Homozygous recessive, with two
recessive alleles (dd)
Phenotype
 The observable trait of an individual
based on its genotype.
o Examples: red flower, curly hair
 For a typical Mendelian trait,
phenotypes may either be:
o Dominant. A trait that requires at
least one dominant allele for the
trait to be expressed, (Dd)
o Recessive. A trait that requires
two recessive alleles for the trait
to be expressed
 Note that the phenotype is determined
by the genotype.
o In complete dominance, RR- red
flower; rr- white flower;
o Rr will express the red flower
condition because one dominant
allele is enough for the dominant
trait to be expressed in the
organism.
Phenocopy
 A trait that is expressed due to specific
environmental conditions (i.e. having
hair that is dyed of a different color) and
is not due to the genotype.
Making a Pedigree Chart
 Pedigree charts are made to chart
family history and see how traits are
passed
 A genetic counsellor will use pedigree
charts to help determine the distribution
of a disease in an affected family
INTERPRETING A PEDIGREE CHART
1. Determine if the pedigree chart shows an
autosomal or X-linked disease.
If most of the males in the pedigree are
affected the disorder is X-linked.
 If the disorder is X-linked most of the
males will have the disorder because
the Y-chromosome cannot mask the
effects of an affected X-chromosome. A
female can have the disorder, but it
would be a very low percentage. For a
female to be affected, she would have
had to receive an affected gene from the
mother and the father. This means that
the father would have the disorder and
the mother was a carrier.
If it is a 50/50 ratio between men and women
the disorder is autosomal.
 In an autosomal disorder, the disorder is
not found on the X or Y chromosome. It
is found on the other 22 chromosomes
in the human body. This means that
men and women have an equal chance
of having the disorder. The mother and
father can be homozygous dominant,
heterozygous, and homozygous
recessive. If a person is homozygous
dominant, the person has two of the
same dominant genes. For example, if
someone is homozygous dominant for
being tall it may be represented as TT.
Capital letter always represent a
dominant gene. If a person is
heterozygous, this person would have a
dominant trait and a recessive trait. It
may be represented as Tt. The
dominant gene will mask the recessive
gene, so the person is still tall. If a
person is homozygous recessive, the
person has two of the same recessive
genes. For example, if someone is
homozygous recessive for height, it may
be represented as tt. The tt would mean
the person is short.
2. Determine whether the disorder is
dominant or recessive.
If the disorder is dominant, one of the parents
must have the disorder.
 One parent must have the disorder
(either homozygous dominant (TT) or
heterozygous recessive (Tt). Both
parents do not have to have the
disorder. One parent might not have the
disorder or be a carrier. If a disease is
dominant, it does not skip a generation
unless one parent is heterozygous
dominant (Tt) and the other parent is
homozygous recessive (tt). In this case
the child has a chance of not receiving
the dominant gene.
If the disorder is recessive, neither parent has
to have the disorder because they can be
heterozygous.
 a parent does not have to have the
disorder, but could still pass it to their
offspring. This would happen when a
parent is heterozygous recessive (Tt)
 and passes on the recessive (t) gene.
This means this disorder can skip
generations. An example of a recessive
disorder would be sickle cell anemia.
ADVANTAGES OF GENETIC ENGINEERING
Remember! A parent in every generation has
the disorder which means the disorder has not
skipped a generation. If the disorder has not
skipped a generation, then the disorder is
dominant.
Remember 2.0! Remember the disorder can
skipped a generation if the disorder is
recessive. The parents can be heterozygous
and be carriers of the disorder but not have the
symptoms of the disorder.
GENETIC ENGINEERING
Genetic engineering
 the manipulation of an organism’s genes
to create a desired characteristic.
 DNA is either added or subtracted to
produce one or more new traits that
were not found in that organism before.
What It is Used For?
 Scientists uses genetic engineering to
knock out certain genes from an
organism in order to observe the effects
and mutations caused by those genes.
 With the mapping of the human genome
and the genomes of other important
animals and plants, scientists have been
able to manipulate the genes of other
organisms in order to produce beneficial
products for humans.
EXAMPLES:
 Genetically Engineered Foods
 Farmers have been producing
foods that have been genetically
altered to be more nutritious,
delicious, resistant to harmful
pesticides and have the ability to
repel pests.
 Creating Your Own Child
 Scientists and doctors have been
able to genetically plan certain
characteristics in embryos.
 Since the mapping of the human
genome, finding specific genes
and their qualities has become
much simpler. Parents now have
an opportunity to “design” their
ideal child.
1. It allows for a faster growth rate.
 Genetic engineering allows of
plants or animals to be modified
so their maturity can occur at a
quicker pace. Even if there is
higher levels of heat or lower
levels of light, it becomes
possible to expand what can be
grown in those conditions.
2. It can create an extended life.
 Genetic modification can help to
create resistance to common
forms of organism death. Pest
resistance can be included into
the genetic profiles of plants so
they can mature as a crop
without any further additives.
 Animals can have their genetic
profiles modified to reduce the
risks of common health concerns
that may affect the breed or
species. This creates the
potential for an extended lifespan
for each organism.
3. Specific traits can be developed.
 Plants and animals can have
specific traits developed through
genetic engineering that can
make them more attractive to use
or consumption. Different colors
can be created to produce a
wider range of produce.
 Animals can be modified to
produce more milk, grow more
muscle tissue, or produce
different coats so that a wider
range of fabrics can be created.
4. New products can be created.
 New products can be created by
adding or combining different
profiles together.
 One example of this is to take a
specific product, such as a
potato, and alter its profile so that
 it can produce more nutrients per
kcal than without the genetic
engineering.
 This makes it possible for more
people to get what they need
nutritionally, even if their food
access is limited, and this could
potentially reduce global food
insecurity.
5. Greater yields can be produced.
 Can also change the traits of
plants or animals so that they
produce greater yields per plant.
 More fruits can be produced per
tree, which creates a greater food
supply and more profits for a
farmer.
 Modified corn, for example, can
be used for specific purposes,
such as animal feed, ethanol.
6. Risks to the local water supply are
reduced.
 Because farmers and growers do
not need to apply as many
pesticides or herbicides to their
croplands due to genetic
engineering, fewer applications to
the soil need to occur.
 This protects the local watershed
and reduces the risk of an
adverse event occurring without
risking the yield and profitability
that is needed.
DISADVANTAGES OF GENETIC
ENGINEERING
1. The nutritional value of foods can be
less.
 When animals grow, and mature
quickly, the nutritional value of
that product can be reduced. This
can be seen in poultry products
today with the white striping that
is found in meat products.
 That striping is a fat deposit that
was created, often in the breast
meat, because of the rapid
growth of the bird. In chickens,
Good Housekeeping reports that
this can increase the fat content
of the meat consumed by over
220%. At the same time, the
amount of protein that is received
is also reduced.
2. Pathogens adapt to the new genetic
profiles.
 Genetic engineering can create a
natural resistance against certain
pathogens for plants and
animals, but the natural
evolutionary process is geared
toward creating pathways.
 Bacteria and viruses evolve a
resistance to the resistance that
is created by the genetic
engineering efforts. This causes
the pathogens to become
stronger and more resistant than
they normally would be,
potentially creating future health
concerns that are unforeseen.
3. There can be negative side effects
that are unexpected.
 Making a plant become more
tolerant to drought might also
make that plant become less
tolerant to direct sunlight.
 Animals may be modified to
produce more milk, but have a
shortened lifespan at the same
time so farmers suffer a greater
livestock.
4. The amount of diversity developed
can be less favorable.
 Genetically engineered plants
and animals make it “into the
wild” and interact with domestic
species. This results in a crossing
of “natural” and “artificial”
organisms.
 The engineered organisms often
dominate, resulting in only a
modified species over several
generations, reducing the
diversity that is available.
5. Copyrighted genetic engineering can
have costly consequences.
 Many companies copyright their
genetic engineering processes or
products to maintain their
profitability. If a farmer plants
genetically modified crops and
the pollination process causes
another farmer in the field over to
have those modified crops grow,
there have been precedents for
legal actions against the
“unauthorized” farmer. This can
have several costly
consequences, from fewer
farmers wanting to work to a
higher cost for the seeds that are
planted.
6. This knowledge and technology can
be easily abused.
 At the moment, genetic
engineering in humans is being
used to treat specific disorders
that threaten the health or
wellbeing of individuals. In time,
the approach in humans could be
like what is already being done
with plants and animals. Genetic
engineering can change specific
traits, which could create human
outcomes that are ethically
questionable or easily abused.

(NASA NOTEBOOK
YUNG SPECIATION)