BIOCHEM PRE FINAL GENETICS LAB EXERCISE ACTIVITY 5

Genetics & Inheritance Lab

Pre-Lab Exercise Name _______________________

1. Define the following terms:

HUMAN GENETIC TRAITS

 A trait can be defined as the characteristic feature of an individual. The characters may appear
either due to phenotypic or genotypically. The traits mainly determine the genes or are expressed
based on their interaction with the environment. The trait is the appearance of the gene product
that is expressed externally. Some of the traits are regulated by the genes which are passed from
parents to their offspring. Most of the characters in human beings are obtained/passed from their
parents. For example, the color of the eye and blood group is received from the father/mother.
Also, some genetically inherited diseases are passed from their parent.

GENE
 Is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are made up of DNA. Some genes act as
instructions to make molecules called proteins. However, many genes do not code for proteins. In
humans, genes vary in size from a few hundred DNA bases to more than 2 million bases.
 Genes are passed from parents to offspring and contain the information needed to specify traits.
Genes are arranged, one after another, on structures called chromosomes. A chromosome contains
a single, long DNA molecule, only a portion of which corresponds to a single gene. Humans have
approximately 20,000 genes arranged on their chromosomes.

ALLELE
 An allele is specific variation of a gene. Bacteria, because they have a single ring of DNA, have one
allele per gene per organism. In sexually reproducing organisms, each parent gives an allele for
each gene, giving the offspring two alleles per gene. Because alleles are just variants of specific
genes, different alleles are found on the same locations on the chromosomes of different
individuals. This is important because it gives organisms to be incredibly varied in the functions of
their various alleles, while at the same time being able to reproduce. This create variety caused by
mutations in specific genes gives rise to a wide number of alleles for any trait in a given population.
 An alternate form of a gene. Usually there are two alleles for every gene, sometimes as many a
three or four.

GENOTYPE
 Genetic composition of an individual determined by the DNA sequence. Is the genetic make-up of
an individual organism. Your genotype functions as a set of instructions for the growth and
development of your body. The word ‘genotype’ is usually used when talking about the genetics of
a particular trait (like eye colour).
 Refer to the exact pairing of alleles, not concerned with expression, only pairing of alleles.
Information on genes. Genotype can be Homozygous (Dominant, Recessive) and Heterozygous
(Dominant).

Example: “B” – Blue eyes “b”- Green eyes

Three possible genotypes are BB, Bb, bb
PHENOTYPE
 The detectable manifestation of the genotype. The observable physical or biochemical
characteristics of an individual organism, determined by both genetic make-up and environmental
influences, for example, height, weight and skin colour. Examples: height and thumbprint
 The physical expression of the allelic composition for the trait under study.
 The expression of the trait. Physical appearance due to traits which are exactly expressed.
Example:
Two possible phenotypes “B” – Blue eyes “b”- Green eyes
Genotypes BB and Bb both give the same phenotype, blue eyes

HOMOZYGOUS
 Refers to having identical alleles for a single trait. An allele represents one particular form of a
gene. Alleles can exist in different forms and diploid organisms typically have two alleles for a given
trait. These alleles are inherited from parents during sexual reproduction. Upon fertilization, alleles
are randomly united as homologous chromosomes pair up.
 In short when the two alleles are the same. Example of two allele (“AA”)

For example, eye color. The brown eye color allele is dominant over the blue eye allele. You can
have brown eyes whether you’re homozygous (two alleles for brown eyes) or heterozygous (one for
brown and one for blue).This is unlike the allele for blue eyes, which is recessive. You need two
identical blue eye alleles in order to have blue eyes.

HETEROZYGOUS
 An individual if consists of two distinct alleles of the particular genotype. Pair of genes, called
alleles, and each allele is located in the locus on a chromosome. If the two alleles are different from
each other at a locus, they are said to heterozygous. Like the word “hetero”, it means to do with
things which are different, especially for genes. The alleles are unlike at some points in it. The
alleles describe the specific genotype of a gene. In other words, alleles have two different types of
genes which control a particular characteristic.

For example, if an offspring child receives the allele of brown eyes from his father, and the allele of
grey eyes from his mother; that means the offspring is heterozygous for the color of eyes.

 In short when the two alleles are different, in such cases the dominant allele is expressed. Example
two allele (“Aa”)

DOMINANT
 As the characteristics that appear in the next generation of a species. These traits are inherited
from parents through a dominant allele. Observable characteristics or traits are known
as phenotype whereas the genetic factor determining the trait is referred to as the genotype. When
a gene is predominant in a population, meaning it is frequently transferred from one generation to
another, it is described as dominant.
 A term applied to the trait (allele) that is expressed irregardless of the second allele.

For example the almond-shaped eyes are a dominant trait in humans compared with other eye
shapes, e.g. round eyes.

RECESSIVE
 Are the genes that are unable to express the dominant trait. Hence, recessive traits are the traits
produced by the recessive genes. Recessive genes are designated by the small letters. In the
 heterozygous condition, the dominant gene masks the effect of the recessive gene. Therefore, only
the dominant trait is expressed under the complete dominance conditions as described
by Mendelian genetics.
 A term applied to a trait that is only expressed when the second allele is the same (e.g. short plants
are homozygous for the recessive allele). Example of allele (“aa”).

Examples is attached earlobes.

2. Describe how you will "mate" in Part II of the exercise.

1
Genetics & Inheritance Lab
Work in groups of two
This lab is designed to demonstrate genetics, or the study of how heritable characteristics are passed
from generation to generation. Genetic traits are determined by genes, or small segments of DNA
carried on chromosomes that determine physical characteristics. This exercise demonstrates how
different alleles of the same gene segregate and reassort (separate and come together) in a
population.
anything else. If you had a large immediate
family to survey, these should segregate in a
Summary of Activities
more classically Mendelian fashion.
1. Demonstrate some of Mendel’s principles
1. Mark your appropriate phenotype for each
of genetics by simulating different types
trait on the chart.
of mating crosses.
2. Record the data for the class.
2. Examine at the effect of natural selection
A. Mid-digital Hair: The presence of hair on the
on the frequency of alleles in a
middle joint of the finger is a dominant trait.
population.
Hair may not be present on all of your
3. Observe some single-gene genetic
fingers, but if you have hair on even one
traits in humans.
finger, you are dominant.
B. Tongue Rolling: The ability to roll the tongue
upward from the sides is a dominant trait.
§ For some reason, people who exhibit this
I. Human Genetic Traits trait seem to think it is a desirable thing to
Some human traits exhibit the simple dominant do. As far as anyone knows, tongue rolling
and recessive behavior of a monohybrid cross has no obvious anatomical or physiological
similar to Mendel's peas. However, the advantage or disadvantage.
expression of many other human traits, like C. Widow's Peak: A distinctive downward point
skin color or height, is much more complex of the frontal hairline is a dominant trait known
and the genetics cannot be easily studied. as a widow's peak. If you have a straight
We will look at a few easily observed human hairline, you are recessive for this trait.
genetic traits to illustrate the simple D. Free Earlobes: Free earlobes are dominant
dominant-recessive over attached earlobes. Read the
relationship between alleles in humans. introduction to Chapter 9 for an explanation
Gene frequencies for a population will not of how this trait is produced during fetal
necessarily show the same development.
dominant/recessive ratios that you see for E. Eye Color: Brown pigmented irises are
the offspring of a specific mating pair. When dominant. The absence of brown pigment
we calculate gene frequency, it is unlikely results in blue eyes, which is recessive. Hazel
that we will have a 3:1 ratio of dominant or green eye color is the result of a second
traits to recessive traits. In our case, it is gene that produces a yellow pigment. Hazel
probably due more to small sample size than eyes have both brown and yellow iris
 pigment, while green eyes have both the
recessive blue iris and dominant yellow
pigment. For our purposes, assess only the
presence of absence of brown pigment.
F. Facial Dimples: Dimples, or indentations, at
the corner of the mouth are a dominant trait.
G. PTC Tasting: The ability to taste the chemical
phenylthiocarbamide, or PTC, is a dominant
trait. Place a piece of PTC paper on the back
2
I. Relative Length of the Big Toe: If your big toe is without looking. Pair it with your partner's
shorter than your second toe, you are
dominant for this trait.
J. Palmaris Longus Muscle: The presence of this
muscle is a dominant genetic trait. If you have
this muscle you will have three wrist tendons.
To determine this, clench your fist tightly and
flex your hand toward you. If you can see or
feel three tendons in your wrist, you have the
long palmar muscle and are dominant. If you
have only two tendons, then you are
recessive for this trait.
II. Mendelian Genetics: Monohybrid Crosses
A monohybrid cross is the genetic transmission
of a single trait. For this exercise, each
person will receive colored beads that
represent different alleles of a gene. Red will
represent the allele for the dominant
characteristic (designated in writing as “A”),
while yellow will represent the allele for the
recessive characteristic (written as "a"). The
combination of two beads determines the
genotype. Since gametes contain only one
copy of each gene, a single bead also
represents a gamete.
You will “mate” (exchange gametes) with your lab
partner and determine the genotypes and
phenotypes of the offspring that result from
each mating, or “cross”.
A. F
1 Generation:
1. For the first mating you will have a
homozygous genotype. One lab partner will
use two red beads, representing the
dominant genotype. The other lab partner
will use two yellow beads, representing the
recessive genotype.
2. Mate with your lab partner by shaking your
beads in your cupped hands and selecting one
of your tongue. If you can detect this
chemical, it will have a bitter taste. If the
paper does not taste nasty to you, then you
are recessive for this trait.
H. Hitchhiker's Thumb: The ability to bend the
o
thumb backward at least 45 is a dominant trait. The
proper term for this is distal
hyperextensibility.
randomly chosen allele; these two beads
represent the two alleles carried by your
offspring. Record the genotype of your
offspring in Table 1 of the attached data sheet.
3. Mate with your lab partner 9 more times
to produce a total of 10 offspring.
Record the genotype of each offspring in
Table 1.
4. Report your results to the class and
determine the class total for each
genotype.
B. F
2 Generation:
This mating involves self-fertilization of the
first generation produced by the first cross.
1. Each person will now have the genotype of
the F1 offspring.
2. Mate with your lab partner 10 times to
produce ten offspring. Record the
genotypes of your offspring in Table 1.
3. Report your results to the class and
determine the class total for each
genotype.
III. The Gene Pool: Allele Frequency
Allele frequency refers to how often a particular
allele appears in a population. Evolution can
be defined as a change in the frequency of
alleles over time. The allele frequency for a
given trait changes over time in response to
changes in the environment. At the
beginning of the quarter you saw how
natural selection influenced changes in the
frequency of a particular phenotype. This
exercise will illustrate how natural selection
influences genotype.
A. How To Calculate Allele Frequency
Think of a population as a pool of genes instead
of individuals, as though each of the
individuals pulled out his or her genes and
threw them in a big pot.
Suppose we have a population of 100 individuals: 200 alleles total.
• 25 of which are "AA" Counting up all the "A's" in the population, we
• 50 of which are "Aa" find there are 100 because:
• 25 of which are "aa" 2 X 25 = 50 "AA"
This population contains 200 total alleles, + 1 X 50 = 50 "Aa"
because 100 individuals with 2 alleles each = 100 "A" genes

3
Allele frequency of "A" is 100/200 = 0.5
(or 50%).

Similarly, the allele frequency for "a" in

this population is 0.5 (or 50%).
B. Selection against the aa genotype
We have just seen how two alleles of the same
gene can be passed on if both genes have an
equal chance of surviving. Now we will
demonstrate what happens to
 Trait Your Phenotype Class Data
Ronel Kristine

Mid-digital Hair

No Mid-digital Hair

Tongue Rolling

No Tongue Rolling

Widow's Peak

Straight Hairline

Free Earlobes

Attached Earlobes

Brown Eye Color

Blue Eye Color

Dimples

No Dimples

PTC Taster

Non-Taster

Hitchhiker's Thumb

Straight Thumb

Longer Second Toe

Longer Big Toe

Palmaris Longus Muscle

Two Wrist Tendons

allele frequency when there is a selective

disadvantage to a particular genotype. In
particular, genotype “aa” causes a fatal
disease which results in death during childhood.
1. Everyone will begin with a heterozygous
 genotype. (Everyone is healthy, but
carries a recessive gene for the disease.)
Record your initial genotype on the first
line of Table 3.
2. Instead of mating with your lab partner,
roam around the room and find another person
in the class AT RANDOM (without respect to
charm, appearance, or even gender) to mate
with. Mate twice. These two offspring will
replace you and your partner in the next
generation. If one
offspring has the genotype is "aa", it dies.
One of you cannot reproduce again. If both
offspring are “aa”, then neither of you can
reproduce
again. Record your offspring's genotype in
Table 3.
Stop at this point until everyone in the
class has finished mating.

3. You will now assume the identity of your

offspring and take on its genotype.
Remember, if you were aa, you cannot
mate again. If you are “AA” or “Aa”, replace
your beads with the
appropriate colors.
4. Find a new partner to mate with and
produce two offspring. Record the
genotypes. Again, if you produce an "aa"
offspring, you cannot mate in the next
generation.
5. Repeat the mating four more until a total of
six generations have been completed.
6. Report your results to the class and record
the class results in Table 4. Calculate the
allele
frequencies for each generation based
on the class results.
4
Genetics & Inheritance Lab
Data Sheets Name _____________________
I. Human Genetic Traits. Table 1: The dominant trait is the first listed of each pair.

5
II. Monohybrid Cross:
Make a hatch mark to keep count of each genotype that is produced during your
matings. Table 2
Number of Offspring
 Genotype of Homozygous Heterozygous Homozygous Recessive
Mating Pair: AA X Dominant (AA) (Aa) (aa)
aa

No. of your F1 3/10 4/10 3/10

offspring:

No. of your F2 2/10 4/10 4/10

offspring:

Total No. of class 60/200 80/200 60/200

F1 offspring:

Total No. of class 40/200 80/200 80/200

F2 offspring:

Your genotypic ratio:

F1 = 3:4:3
F2 = 2:4:4

Class’s genotypic ratio:

F1 = 60:80:60
F2 = 40:80:80

6
III. Natural Selection Against the Recessive Phenotype
Table 3: Your Individual Genotypes
Your Genotype

Original Genotype AA X Aa

Genotype of 1st Generation AA Aa AA Aa

Aa X AA

Genotype of 2nd Generation AA AA Aa Aa

AA X Aa

Genotype of 3rd Generation AA Aa AA Aa

 Aa X AA

Genotype of 4th Generation AA AA Aa Aa

AA X Aa

Genotype of 5th Generation AA Aa AA Aa

Aa X AA

Genotype of 6th Generation AA AA Aa Aa

Table 4: Class Genotypes

No. of people with No. of Individual Alleles Allele Frequency
genotypes: AA Aa A a A a
aa

Original 1 1 0 3 1 75% 25%

Genotype

Genotype of 2 2 0 6 2 75% 25%

1st Generation

Genotype of 2 2 0 6 2 75% 25%

2nd
Generation

Genotype of 2 2 0 6 2 75% 25%

3rd
Generation

Genotype of 2 2 0 6 2 75% 25%

4th
Generation

Genotype of 2 2 0 6 2 75% 25%

5th
Generation

Genotype of 2 2 0 6 2 75% 25%

6th
Generation

7
Genetics & Inheritance Lab
Lab Report
1) (2 pts) Hand in all data tables

I. Human Genetic Traits

 2) Is it always the case that more people in a population will have the dominant trait over
the recessive trait? Why or why not? Use your data to support your answer.

Answer:
 Yes, dominant trait is more frequent than recessive trait because dominant is more adaptive than
the recessive. Dominant also is stronger than recessive that’s why dominant alleles almost always
win over recessive ones.
 As per in the data sheet (Table 1) in class data column 70% of dominant traits filled of checked
out of 10 dominant traits and only 30% recessive traits filled of checked out of 10 recessive traits.
Therefore, in this case Dominant trait is more adaptive or expressed (Phenotype) and more
common in human genetic population gene inheritance, because if we will know the Genotype of
every class it will be either more Homozygous Dominant (AA) or Heterozygous (Aa).

3) How closely did your individual data match the class data?

Answer:
Based on Table 1:
Our Phenotype I got 60% of dominant traits while
Class data is 70% dominant traits. Therefore, very closely 90%.
Wherein:
My Phenotype I got 40% of recessive traits while
Class data is 30% recessive traits. Therefore, very closely 90%.

II. Mendelian Genetics: Monohybrid Crosses

4) Why did all the F1 individuals look the same?

Answer:
 Traits are passed down in families in different patterns. The inheritance pattern of the characteristic
is considered dominant, because it is observable in every offspring.
 Most parental genotype are dominant homozygous and another one is homozygous recessive. In
this case dominant allele will mask the effect of the recessive allele completely. If one parent allele
is dominant homozygous and one is homozygous recessive mate and self-fertilized their first
offspring will be heterozygous and when we expressed it the traits of their offspring is more copied
to the dominant traits of one parent this we called complete dominance.
 Same thing what we did in our activity if one of them picked one bead (allele) which is dominant
allele (A) in a shake cupped automatically in our cross breeding, whatever my lab partner picked
bead(allele) if it is recessive allele (a) this recessive allele will mask by dominant allele. That’s why
our number first offspring is more likely look the same that is according to Mendelian genetics.

5) What happened to the recessive trait from parental ⮴ F1 ⮴ F2 generations?

Answer:
 The result of F1 recessive trait is 3 out of 10 which is lower to the result of F2 recessive traits which
is 4 out of 10 offspring. It means the parental produce more “aa” every the generations. Recessive
inheritance means both genes in a pair must be abnormal to cause disease. People with only one
defective gene in the pair are called carriers. These people are most often not affected with the
condition. However, they can pass the abnormal gene to their children.
 6) How close were your group’s F2 generation data and the class data to the expected ratio? What
could you have done to make these data more accurate?

Answer:
 As per the below result it shown that our group’s F2 generation data and the class data Ratio of
Homozygous dominant, Heterozygous, Homozygous recessive are same as 20%:40%:40% or same
as 2:4:4 Ratio. The factors that these data more accurate is by collecting data each individual then
formulated the Monohybrid cross allele which is called Principle of Segregation from F1 to F2
generation whereas the number of offspring produce after mating had affected the ratio more
closely.

Group’s F2 genotypic ratio:

F2 = 2:4:4
Class’s data F2 genotypic ratio:
F2 = 40:80:80 (note total of class 20 pair x10 no. of off spring generation = /200)

III. The Gene Pool: Allele Frequency

7) How does the frequency for each allele and each genotype change over the generations?

Answer:
 Each allele and each genotype change over the generation thru genetic hybridization, evolution
occurred can be defined as a change in the frequency of alleles over time. The allele frequency for a
given trait changes over time in response to changes in the environment.
 Under in our activity (Table 3) the original genotype both allele are healthy (AA x Aa) the allele
frequency from original genotype cross (mate) from F1 generation continuing cross from F2, F3, F4,
F5, F6. The allele (“A”) frequency are constantly 75% and never change likewise the (“a”) allele
frequency are constantly 25% and never change. The cross breeding of allele changed over the
generation as shown from F1, F2, F3, F4, F5 in table 3 but as we noticed no recessive allele during
offspring thus no mutation occurred and everyone can survive.
 In summary when individuals with certain genotypes survive better than others, allele frequencies
may change from one generation to the next. No mutation: If new alleles are produced by mutation
or if alleles mutate at different rates, allele frequencies may change from one generation to the
next.
8) Explain the effect that natural selection appears to have on allele frequency in a
population.

Answer:
 Base on the result on table 3, the homozygous recessive (aa) is lost. Parental didn’t produce “aa”
but there are still a recessive allele they can hide out behind a dominant trait that’s why it can
hardly be seen but it is present. This means that sometimes takes a few generations to finally make
its presence known.

9) Why doesn't selection against aa individuals lead to the complete loss of the "a" allele
from the population?

Answer:
  It’s almost impossible for them to completely disappear from a gene pool because natural selection
can only see the phenotype, not the genotype. Recessive alleles can hide out in heterozygotes (Aa),
allowing them to persist in gene pools and take its presence in other generations.