Plants and Animal Genetics

For thousands of years, famers have selected livestock and crops with the most favorable
characteristics and used these to produce better animals and greater yields; this process
is called selective breeding. Now days, we can change the characteristics of crop plants by
introducing new genetic material. This can improve plant yields, increase the nutritional
content in crop and confer resistance of diseases.

Questions

Can you tell what is cross-breeding?

State how plant cells differ from animal cells

Terms used in Animal Genetics

1. Allele- are pairs of genes on a chromosome that determine the heredity

characteristics of the offspring.

2. Chromosomes-a thread like, gene carrying bodies in the nucleus of a cell.

Chromosomes are composed of primarily of DNA and protein.

3. Inheritance-something that is passed on from the parent to the offspring

4. Genes- is a hereditary unit consisting of a sequence of DNA that occupies a

specific location on the chromosome and determines a particular characteristic in
an organism.

5. Genetics- the study of gene structure and action and the patterns of inheritance
of traits from parent to offspring.

6. Genotype- the genetic makeup of an individual. Genotype can refer to an organisms

entire genetic makeup.

7. Phenotype- the observable or detectable characteristics of an individual organism.

E.g. milk production, height, hair colour and leaf shape

8. Homozygous- refers to the genotype consisting of two identical alleles of a gene or

particular trait.

9. Heterozygous- a genotype consisting of two different alleles of a gene for a

particular trait.

10. In-breeding- occurs when animals of the same breed are mated with one another

11. Hybrids- this involves mating two animal from different breeds of the same
species and it combines the genes of the two breeds. E. g. cattle breeds mating
with each other; jersey mating with Jamaican hope.

12. Gametes- are cells that are used during sexual reproduction to produce a new
organism or zygote. E. g. male gamete: sperm, female gamete: egg

Questions

How does cross breeding differ from in-breeding?