ELLA SEANNE G.

ONG
SCIENCE PBA 6- QUARTER 3
DECEMBER 20, 2019

OBSERVATIONS:

TABLE 1. MORPHOLOGIC GENETIC TRAITS

CHARACTERISTICS FATHER MOTHER YOU

Hair color Black Medium brown Dark brown
Hair condition Straight Wavy Straight
Skin complexion Fair Fair Fair
Earlobes Free Free Free
Presence of freckles Absent Absent Absent
Shape of frontal Straight Straight Straight
hairline
Height Tall Average Tall
6/7 = 86% 4/7 = 57%

INTERPRETATION:
I inherited more traits from my father than my mother. Most people would say I look
more like my dad than my mom.

2. CALCULATION OF PERCENTAGE INHERITIANCE

FROM FATHER: FROM MOTHER:

6 4
= 0.857 = 86% = 0.571 = 57%
7 7

INTERPRETATION:

Since the total of traits inherited from my parents do not equal to exactly 100%, some traits I
would say are shared. The probability of inheritance of certain traits depend whether the said
trait is dominant or recessive. For example if there are two outcomes for a certain trait like hair
condition where the dominant trait is straight and the recessive is wavy, the probability of
inheritance would be as follows:
 Father
Mother S s
S SS - straight Ss -straight
s Ss - straight ss -wavy

There would be around 75% straight and 25% in the offspring. However some of my traits are
not exactly how we would predict them so maybe they have different penetrance and multiple
genes are responsible for say hair condition or hair color.

CONCLUSION:

As I mentioned above, there are ways to predict probability of inheritance of a certain

traits by using the Mendelian law of inheritance (dominant vs recessive traits). However some
traits will not exactly look as how it is predicted and this leads us to the theory of Variable
Penetrance which also tells us that certain traits are determined by different genes so there
maybe several if not hundreds of phenotypes possible for certain combinations!

POST LAB QUESTIONS: GANZON- ONG PEDIGREE FOR STRAIGHT HAIR

II MOM DAD

III ELLA

1. Explain why you chose the trait you used in the pedigree analysis.
Looking at our family pictures, there were really obvious differences between my Mom’s
and Dad’s families. My dad’s family really looks Chinese. My mom’s paternal side looks
very Chinese as well but my maternal grandmother’s side look very varied – some have
red hair and very mestizo in features while others look really Pinoy but rarely look
Chinese. My mom resembles her dad but not as Chinese looking as the rest of her
paternal relatives. The most obvious difference between the two sides would be for me
is the straight hair trait.
2. What problems did you encounter when you prepared the pedigree analysis?
It was kind of easy really because in my dad’s side, they all have really straight and lifeless
hair. I got that from them. Whatever product I put, it would not really hold for more than
a couple of hours and I would end up with really flat, straight hair. Also, since my dad has
brothers, I know that they never curled or did anything to their hair.

3. What are the limitations of using pedigree analysis in presenting a genetic trait or a
genetic disorder?

First a pedigree analysis is used only to identify which progenies are affected by a certain
disease. It will not however identify a carrier, someone who carries the gene but does not
manifest it phenotypically. Also, genetic traits are not determined by a single gene but likely
by multiple genes in different alleles. So the probabilities are countless. Pedigree analysis
are used to track down some rare diseases or conditions to see if they can be passed on to
the next generation. This has value in couples who would want to conceive and who know
that they actually carry a possible disorder in the family.