Genes and Inheritance

Gregor Mendel
He became interested in inheritance and used pea plants in his controlled breeding experiments. As a
result of his experiment he was able to formulate the basic laws of inheritance:

1. Genes are passed from one generation to the next

2. Genes can have alternate forms (allele)
3. Each individual must have two alternate forms per feature
4. Sex cells only have one of the alternate forms per feature
5. One allele can be dominant over the other

Result of Mendel’s Experiment

1. The offspring of pure-bred parents are always of one type not a blend of two parental features,
but one or the other.
2. The offspring of pure-bred first generation are always in the ratio of 3:1 (three fourths are the
same as the first generation whereas one fourth have the other parental features).

Definitions
Genotype
This is the genetic makeup of an organism. It describes the alleles, each cell has for a certain feature. It is
represented by two letters, each representing on allele of the gene that controls the feature.

Phenotype
It refers to an expressed trait of an organism. It is the characteristic of an organism which can be seen and
results from the genotype.

Dominant Gene
It is the one that always expresses itself, whether in a homozygous or heterozygous combination. It is
represented by a capital letter.

Recessive Gene
It is the one which is suppressed by a dominant gene and can only express itself it combines with another
recessive gene. It is represented by a lowercase letter.

Homozygous Gene Combination

In this type of gene combination both genes are similar. The can either be homozygous dominant (TT) or
homozygous recessive (tt).

Heterozygous Gene Combination

It is the type of gene combination in which on gene is dominant and the other is recessive e.g.
heterozygous combination of a tall plant will be Tt.
Test Cross
It is a breeding experiment in which an organism showing a dominant feature is bred with one showing a
recessive feature e.g. a test cross between a tall pea plant with a short pea plant. Tall plant is represented
by ‘T’ and the short plant by ‘t’. A tall pea plant can have two genotypes: ‘TT’ or ‘Tt’.

Genotype of
T T
parents
TT tt

t
t Tt Tt
T
Gametes T t

Genotype of t Tt Tt
offspring
Tt Tt Tt Tt
All heterozygous
Phenotype ratio
tall

Genotype of T t
parents
Tt tt

T t
t Tt tt
Gametes t t

Genotype of
Tt Tt tt tt
t Tt tt
offspring
Phenotype ratio 2 Tall : 2 Short

Genotype of
Tt Tt
T t
parents

T T T TT Tt
Gametes t t

Genotype of offspring TT Tt Tt tt t Tt tt
Phenotype ratio 3 Tall : 1 Short
Co-dominance
When none of the genes are recessive both are dominant and cannot suppress the effect of each other
completely. Hence, the new individual will be the blend of two. This results in an extra phenotype e.g.
snapdragon plants have red, white or pink flowers. If a plant with red flowers is crossed with one that has
white flowers, all the resulting plants will have pink flowers.

R = Red Flower W = White Flower

Genotype of
RR WW
parents

Gametes R R W W

Genotype of
RW RW RW RW
offspring
Phenotype ratio All Pink Flowers

When pink flowers are crossed with each other, all three phenotypes reappear in the ratio 1:2:1

Genotype of
parents
RW RW

Gametes R W R W

Genotype of
offspring
RR RW RW WW

Phenotype ratio 1 Red : 2 Pink : 1 White

Blood Groups in Humans
The occurrence of blood groups in humans is another example of co-dominance and multiple alleles.
There are four blood groups resulting from three alleles: A, B and O. A and B are dominant over O, but not
over each other, hence are co-dominant. The genotypes and phenotypes are as follows:

Genotype Phenotype
IAIA or IAIO Blood Group A
IBIB or IBIO Blood Group B
IAIB Blood Group AB
IOIO Blood Group O

Sex Determination
The determination of sex is not under the control of a single gene but by the X and Y chromosome, the
sex chromosome. The inheritance of sex follows the pattern shown below:

Phenotype of
Parents
Male Female

Genotype of
parents
XY XX

Gametes X Y X X

Genotype of
offspring
XX XX XY XY

Phenotype 2 Males 2 Females

Phenotype Ratio 50 : 50
1 : 1

Predicted genetic ratios are usually met when large numbers are involved. The overall ratio of male and
female birth is one is to one.
Inherited Medical Conditions and Diseases
1. Albinism – caused by a recessive gene
Let A – normal
a – with disease
If parents are heterozygous

Genotype of parents Aa Aa

Gametes A a A a

Genotype of offspring AA Aa Aa aa
Phenotype ratio Normal Carriers Albino

2. Huntington’s Disease – caused by dominant gene

Let H – with disease
h – normal
If one parent is heterozygous and the other is homozygous recessive

Genotype of parents Hh hh

Gametes H h h h

Genotype of offspring Hh Hh hh hh
Phenotype ratio 2 with disease 2 normal