GENETICS

Bateson in 1906
 GENETICS DERIVED FROM “GENESIS”

• Meaning creation
• To become
• The way in which something is formed
 DEFINITION OF GENETICS

“Defined as the science of heredity and variation which deals with

resemblances and differences among individuals related by descent”
Heredity: means the similarity which progeny shows to its parents
Variation: The differences and similarities exhibited by individuals in
the progeny
or any deviation form the heredity
 ACHIEVEMENTS BEFORE 1900

• Old Babylonian tablet 6000BC shows pedigree of large successive generations

of horses.
• Stone age cravings of same period show illustration of cross pollination in date
palm
• Early Chinese made improvement in rice to develop varieties
• Animals domesticated and plants cultivated even before recorded history
 ACHIEVEMENTS BEFORE 1900

• Robert Hooke (1665): discovered cellular entities in the sections of cork

• Brown (1831): noticed a body withing the cell, a regular cellular element now called
nucleus
• Schleiden and Schwann (1838-40): Cell theory
• In 1870’s better staining methods, condenser and oil immersion lens were developed
• Flemming (1882): named the process mitosis
• Strasburger gave full description of mitotic division
 ACHIEVEMENTS BEFORE 1900

• By 1879 Strasburger in plants and Hertwig & Fol in animals described fertilization process.
• In 1884-85, Kolliker, Weismann, Hertwig and Straburger: Chromosome theory of heredity
• Waldeyer in 1888 coined the term Chromosome
• Wolff and Von Baer: Epigenesis
• Lamarck: Inheritance of acquired characters
• Darwin: Pangene theory (gemmules)
• Galton rejected Darwin theory of gemmules
• Weisman: Germplasm theory ‘the idea of the continuity of the germ plasm’
MENDELIAN INHERITANCE

Father of Genetics (1822-1884)

 GREGOR MENDEL

• Poor farmer family of Austria

• Joined Monastery during 1843 and become a Monk
• Did hybridization work on snapdragon, pumpkin, flax, bean, pea, plum, pear and maize
• Vienna University in 1851 to study science and mathematics
• Returned to Brunn 1854, priest and appointed as teacher in a school
• Presented his work in History Society of Brunn in 1865
• His work remind unnoticed for 34 years
• In 1900 Correns, deVeries and Tschermak rediscovered and proved he was right
 MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE

• First Law:
Law of segregation
it discusses how a single gene segregate

• Second Law:
Law of Independent Assortment
it discusses how two or more genes segregate
 1 ST : LAW OF SEGREGATION

It states :
“Hereditary characters are determined by some particulate
factors, these factors occur in pairs and at the time of gamete
formation segregate at random so that only one member of a
gene pair is transmitted to a particular gamete”
 WHAT ARE FACTORS?

• Mendel used word “factor” in his statement; it is now replaced with word
“Genes”
• Traits controlled by genes: Tall is controlled by a gene “T”
• They occur in pair: Tall is controlled by a pair of genes “TT”
• The contrasting trait of tall is dwarf and it is controlled by alternate form of
gene: Dwarf is controlled by “tt” it also occurs in pair
• The trait which appear in F1 is designated dominant and the other trait which
does not appear is recessive, e.g. tall is dominant and dwarf is recessvie
 HOW CHARACTERS SEGREGATES

Tall × Tall Dwarf × Dwarf Tall × Dwarf

TT TT tt tt TT tt
T T t t T t

F1 All Tall TT F1 All Dwarf tt F1 All Tall Tt

(Selfing)
Tall × Tall Dwarf × Dwarf Tall × Tall
TT TT tt tt Tt Tt
T T t t T t T t
F2 All Tall F2 All Dwarf F2 many Tall : few dwarf
TT tt TT : Tt : Tt : tt
 TERMINOLOGIES USED IN GENETIC CROSSES

• Phenoytpe:Visual observation or physical appearance of a character e.g.

Yellow colour of flower, round shape of fruit, smooth surface of leaf
height of plant, rough surface of fruit
• Genotype: The genetic aggregate actually involved in the developed and expression of the observed
character e.g.
Genes = TT, YY, RR, SS
• Condition of gene: Homozygous = TT, tt, DD, dd, DDTT, ddtt, WWdd
Heterozygous = Tt, Dd, DdTt, WwDd
 TERMINOLOGIES USED IN GENETIC
CROSSES

• Phenotypic ratio: the phenotypes observed after making crosses in the filial progeny e.g.
When tall was crossed with dwarf. All offsprings where tall in the F1, in the F2 of same
cross 75% were tall and 25% were dwarf phenotypic ratio is 3:1

• Genotypic ratio: the actual genotype involved in the expression of the characters in the
progeny. e.g. in the above cross F1 tall produced all have genotype Tt
in the F2 of same cross the 3 tall have two types of genetic makeup:
1 homozygous TT : 2 heterozygous Tt : 1 dwarf tt, so Genotypic ratio is 1:2:1
 HOW CHARACTERS SEGREGATES

Tall × Tall Tall × Dwarf

TT TT TT tt

F1 All Tall TT F1 All Tall Tt

(Selfing)
Tall × Tall Tall × Tall
TT TT Tt Tt

F2 All Tall Phenotypic ratio F2 3/4 Tall : 1/4 dwarf

TT Genotypic ratio tt1/4
1/4TT 1/2Tt