Name:____________________________________________ Date:____________________

Genetics Notes: Patterns of Inheritance & Pedigrees

I. Other Patterns of Inheritance:

**Not all traits are completely dominant**
A. Incomplete Dominance
1. Pattern of inheritance in which heterozygous offspring show a
phenotype between the phenotypes of the parents (in the
middle)
2. NEITHER allele is expressed fully
3. Examples:
a. Snapdragon flowers:
i. Red flower + white flower = PINK flower
b. Cow color:
i. Red (brown) bull + white cow = Roan (Pink) cow
4. Punnett Square Example:
r = red a. Knowing that a certain flower shows a pattern of
incomplete dominance, create a Punnett Square showing
w = white a cross of TWO PINK flowers.
b. r = red; w = white
rw = pink r w
Phenotype:
Genotype: r rr
rw Red = 25%
rr = 25%
Pink = 50%
rw = 50%
rw ww White = 25%
ww = 25% w

B. Codominance
1. Pattern of inheritance where both alleles in the heterozygous
offspring are FULLY expressed
2. Example: Human Blood Type
a. Genotype = Letters; Phenotype = Blood Type
b. Type A: AA, AO (homozygous & heterozygous)
c. Type B: BB, BO (homozygous & heterozygous)
d. Type AB: AB (ONLY heterozygous)
e. Type O: OO (ONLY homozygous)
3. Punnett Square Example:
a. Knowing that blood type shows a pattern of
codominance, cross a person with TYPE O blood and one
with TYPE AB blood.
 Name:____________________________________________ Date:____________________
O O
Phenotype:
Type A = 50% A AO AO
Type B = 50%
Type AB = 0%
Type O = 0% BO BO
B

C. Sex-linked
1. Phenotypic expression of an allele that is dependent on the
gender of the individual
2. Carried on either sex chromosome (X or Y)
a. Remember: Female = XX; Male = XY
b. Many more genes carried on the X chromosome, so many
more X-linked traits than Y-linked traits
i. Examples: Hemophilia, Color-blindness
ii. FEMALES: If have only healthy X, it dominates over
the infected X.
iii. MALES: If have only one infected X, Y can’t
dominate over it.
3. Punnett Square Example
a. Knowing that COLOR BLINDNESS is a sex-linked trait, cross a
CARRIER FEMALE with a NON-INFECTED MALE.
b. Determine the probability of this couple having a color-
B= normal vision blind child. B
X Y
b = color blind
B B B B
X X X X Y

b
X XB X b b
X Y

D. Polygenic Traits
1. One trait is controlled by TWO or MORE genes
2. Example:
a. Human skin color
E. Multiple Alleles
1. More than two alleles for the same gene
Name:____________________________________________ Date:____________________

2. Example:
a. Human blood type (phenotypes produced by 3 different
alleles)  

F. Pleiotropy
1. Single gene affects MORE than one trait
2. Examples:
a. Sickle cell disease
b. Marfan’s syndrome
II. Pedigree
A. Chart that shows how a trait and the genes that control it are passed
through a family
1. Most knowledge of human genetics comes from studying
patterns of heredity in populations and families
2. Best way to trace these patterns is by creating a pedigree
B. Symbols:
Symbol Description

Unaffected male

Unaffected female

Affected male

Affected female

Deceased (dead) male

Name:____________________________________________ Date:____________________

Deceased (dead) female

Possibly affected male or unknown

Possibly affected female or unknown

Carrier male of autosomal recessive disorder

Carrier female of autosomal recessive disorder

Connected Symbols:

Twins Married couple

Divorced Couple Siblings

Mrs. Mr.
Pedigree Example: Mrs. Smith
Mr. Smith
I
Renaldo Renaldo

II

George Emily Jane Joe Grace

III

I Clarisse
Although Jane and Joe Smith have dimples, daughter, Clarisse does not. Joe’s dad
has dimples, but his mother and his sister, Grace, do not. Jane’s dad, Mr. Renaldo, her
brother, George, and her sister, Emily, do not have dimples but her mother does.