INHERITANCE

Have you ever looked through a photograph album of your parents when they were about your
age? Have you ever laughed in amazement at the similarities between their appearance and
yours? It is not very difficult to notice that we all have some physical characteristics which are very
similar to our parents. It may be our eye colour, hair colour, nose and ear shape, height, even the
length of our toes.

GENETICS is the study of inherited characteristics called TRAITS. In natural populations all the
individuals are genetically different – they have different traits. However, some patterns of
inheritance of these traits can be identified.

In Austria in 1856, a monk called GREGOR MENDEL (1822 – 84) carried out experiments on pea
plants. The results of these experiments led him to construct theories that became the basis for the
study of modern genetics and are still recognised and used today.

In one series of experiments, Mendel worked with pure breeding red-flowered pea plants and pure-
breeding white-flowered pea plants. In PURE-BREEDING lines, all the individuals have the same
genetic information. Therefore, only red-flowered offspring could be produced from red-flowered
parents and white-flowered offspring from white-flowered parents.

When pollen from red-flowered plants was used to cross-pollinate the white-flowered plants, all the
plants in the next generation produced red flowers. Mendel called the red trait (characteristic) the
DOMINANT trait. The dominant trait is the trait that can be observed in the appearance of the
individual. The other trait he called the RECESSIVE trait – the one that remained hidden.

Mendel then cross-pollinated these red flowers of the first generation, or F 1 generation. Each set of
crosses that he performed produced both white and red flowers in the next generation – the F 2
generation. As shown in the diagrams below the proportions were roughly ¾ red flowers and ¼
white flowers.

The conclusion of these results is that genes work in pairs to determine which characteristic is
shown or expressed. The gene that was studied in this situation was the gene for flower colour and
this gene came in two varieties. Variations of genes are known as ALLELES. In this instance, the
gene for flower colour had an allele for the red flower trait and an allele for the white flower trait.
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HOMOZYGOUS AND HETEROZYGOUS

When studying crosses and potential traits of offspring, geneticists used shorthand conventions.
The dominant allele is represented by an upper-case letter related to the name. In this case, the
red flower allele could be represented the letter R (pronounced as ‘big r’). The recessive trait (white
flower) is then represented by the lower-case of the same letter – r (pronounced as ‘little r’). By
using R and r, it shows that a particular gene is being discussed.

An RR (‘big r big r’) combination of alleles will produce a red flower. Rr (‘big r little r’) will also
produce a red flower because red is dominant to white. Only rr (‘little r little r’) will produce a white
flower.

When an individual has two alleles the same, such as the RR and rr combinations, then the
individual is said to be HOMOZYGOUS for that allele. The individual is described as a
homozygote. Individuals with the Rr combination of alleles are HETEROZYGOUS. These
individuals are heterozygotes.
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PUNNETT SQUARES

When working out the possible characteristics of offspring, it is important to refer back to meiosis
and the movement of the genes as gametes are produced. The diagram below demonstrates how
gametes of a heterozygote end up with different alleles of the flower colour gene.
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Fertilisation then determines which traits are present in each of the offspring.

PUNNETT SQUARES are one way of showing all the possible types of offspring that could result
from a cross. You cannot assume that the offspring will appear in exactly this order and this exact
ratio. It represents a probability.

In a Punnett square the possible gametes produced by one parent are shown across the top. The
gametes from the other parent are shown down the side. In each square is a possible outcome of
fertilisation.

RR, rr and Rr represent the pea plants’ GENOTYPE – the actual genetic information carried by an
individual.

The red or white of the flower is the PHENOTYPE – the observable traits of the individual.

In the diagram above, RR and Rr have different genotypes but they both have red flowers.
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QUESTIONS

1. State what is meant by pure-breeding line of plants.

All the individuals have the same genetic information. Therefore, only red-flowered offspring could
be produced from red-flowered parents and white-flowered offspring from white-flowered parents.

2. Recall the term used to describe the following.

(a) Alternate forms of gene: Allele

(b) An organism with different alleles for a particular gene: Heterozygous or hybrid

(c) The observable characteristics of an individual: Trait or phenotype

(d) An individual with two copies of the same allele of a gene: Homozygous or pure

3. Predict the number of chromosomes that would be found in the following human cells.

(a) Ovum: 23

(b) Muscle Cell: 46

(c) Skin Cell: 46

(d) Sperm Cell: 23

4. Explain the differences between these terms:

(a) Dominant and recessive genes.

Dominant genes are more likely to be inherited from a parent rather than a recessive gene

(b) Heterozygous and homozygous.

People who are heterozygous have genes that are of the different allele, while homozygous have
the same allele

(c) Genotype and phenotype

Genotype is the set of genes in our DNA which are responsible for a particular trait, phenotype are
the observable characteristics of it.

5. Suppose a characteristic in humans is represented by the alleles G and g.

(a) Which one is recessive?

(b) Show two genotypes that produce the same phenotype.

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GG, Gg

6. If you get half your genes from your mother and half from your father, why don’t you have half
your mother’s features and half your father’s features?

Because the characteristics are affected by two sets of genes and how they are expressed
depends on not only genetic but also environmental factors

7. Ben crossed a brown mouse with a white mouse. He discovered that all of the baby mice were
brown. What does this tell you about the genotypes of the parent mice?

They would be homozygous with one having genes for brown colour and one having genes for
white colours. The genotype would be BB and bb. Brown is the dominant colour

8. Suppose the allele that controls right-handedness is dominant over the one for left-handedness.
A heterozygous right-handed male (Rr) and a left-handed female (rr) have four children, three who
are left-handed and one who is right-handed.

(a) If the allele for right-handedness is called R, use a Punnett square to calculate the proportion of
children who should be right-handed.

Female Gametes

r r

Rr Rr
Male R
Gametes r rr rr

Possible Genotypes:

Rr, rr

Possible Phenotypes:

Right handed and left handed

(b) Suggest a reason for the difference between your result in (a) and the actual proportion of
children with this characteristic in this family.

The is the result of chance with a probability of 50 percent being left-handed and 50 percent being
right handed
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9. Analyse the following Punnet squares where R is red, and r is white.

Identify the:

(a) Ratio of genotypes in the offspring.

2:2

(b) Ratio of the phenotypes and appearance in the offspring.

1:1

10. When a homozygous hen with black eyes mates with a rooster with red eyes, all the chickens
have black eyes.

(a) Which allele for eye colour is dominant?

Black

(b) What is the genotype of the chickens?

Bb

(c) Suppose two of the chickens mated when they matured. Use a Punnett square to find the
genotypes and phenotypes of the chickens of the next generation.

Female Gametes

B b

B BB Bb
Male
Gametes b Bb bb

Possible Genotypes: BB, Bb, bb

Possible Phenotypes: Black eyes and red eyes