INTRODUCTION

TO MENDELIAN
GENETICS
Objectives
1. Explain
basic concepts of heredity and genetics
such as phenotype and genotype;
2. Illustrate
the possible offspring in a monohybrid
cross between parents using a Punnett Square; and
3. Predictthe phenotypic expressions of traits
following simple patterns of inheritance.
WHAT ARE DNA
AND
CHROMOSOME?
DNA is packed into thread-
like structures called
chromosomes in every
cell’s nucleus.
DO YOU HAVE ANY
IDEA ABOUT
GENETICS?
 Genetics is a field of biology that
studies how traits are passed from
parents to their offspring. The passing
of traits from parents to offspring is
known as heredity, therefore, genetics
is the study of heredity.
Gregor Mendel
 “Father of Modern Genetics”
 An Austrian monk and biologist.
 In the 1860s Gregor Mendel introduced a new theory of inheritance
based on his experimental work with pea plants.
Genetics
- the study of inheritance and variation among organisms.

Inheritance or Heredity
- refers to traits that are passed on from parents to offspring.

Variation
- refers to the differences in individuals among members of
the same species.
Allele
- or allelomorph is the word used to describe the alternative form or
version of a gene.

Genotype
- refers to the genetic makeup of an organism, or scoring of the types
of variant present in a gene, or their unique sequence of DNA.

Phenotype
- refers to an individual’s observable traits or person’s presentation.
Dominant trait
-the trait being expressed in an organism. It is represented by a
capital letter.

Recessive trait
-the trait that is masked by a dominant trait. It is represented by a
lowercase letter.

Homozygous
-refers to the same alleles for the same trait.
Heterozygous
- refers to two different alleles for the same trait.

Dihybrid cross
- it is the cross involving two traits at the same time.

Gene
- A gene is a unit of hereditary information that occupies a fixed
position on a chromosome. Genes are made up of DNA and each
chromosome contains many genes.
 LAWS THAT
GOVERNS
MENDEL’S THEORY
OF INHERITANCE
Law of Dominance
 This law states that "hybrid offspring will only inherit the
dominant trait in the phenotype (physical trait).“
 The suppressed alleles are called the recessive traits, while
the ones that determine the trait are the dominant traits.
 Example: Straight hair type is dominant over curly hair type.
Law of Independent Assortment
 This law state that "a pair of traits segregate independently of
another pair during gamete formation and that genes for
different traits segregate independently." It means that
separate traits are separately inherited.
 For example, the inheritance of hair type is not affected by
the inheritance of skin color.
Law of Segregation
 It says that everyone has two versions (called alleles)
for each trait-one from each parent-and that these
alleles pairs segregate during the meiosis.
 They re-unite randomly during fertilization, and
offspring acquire one factor from each parent.
 GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE
Trait/ Gene Possible Genotype
1. Flower Color The possible genotypes are the
following:
Purple Flowers (F) are dominant
to white flower (f) FF – Homozygous dominant
Ff – Heterozygous
ff – Homozygous recessive
Note: The dominant allele is
always represented by a capital
letter, while the recessive allele
is represented by a small letter.
2. Eye Color EE – Homozygous dominant
Ee – Heterozygous
Brown eyes (E) are dominant to Ee – Homozygous recessive
blue eyes (e)
Phenotype
Since Purple flowers are
dominant to white flowers, then:
FF – Purple Flowers
Ff – Purple Flowers
Ff – White Flowers
Note: The dominant trait is
always expressed in the
phenotype whenever there is a
dominant allele.
EE – Brown eyes
Ee – Brown eyes
Ee – blue eyes
Given that the father has
a dimple and the mother
does not have a dimple,
what are the chances that
their child will have it?
MONOHYBRID CROSS/ INHERITANCE
 Studying one trait and its inheritance at a time.
 A genetic cross between individuals with different
alleles for a single gene.
DIHYBRID CROSS/ INHERITANCE
 A dihybrid cross is a breeding experiment between two
organisms which are identical hybrids for two traits. In other
words, a dihybrid cross is a cross between two organisms,
with both being heterozygous for two different traits.
Punnett Square
 Invented by an English geneticist Reginald Punnett.
 Is a simple graphical way of discovering all the
potential combinations of genotypes in offspring.
 Given the parents’ genotypes, it also shows us the
probability of each offspring genotype occurring.
 HOW TO DO THE PUNNETT SQUARE?
1. With the two-by-two grid, list one parent’s genotype at the top;
one allele per column, then one parent’s genotype along the side;
one per row.
 HOW TO DO THE PUNNETT SQUARE?
2. Fill the squares by crossing the genotype of the parents. Fill in which
one allele from one parent (top) and one from the other (side).
EXAMPLE
 The gene for tongue rolling is consists of two alleles:
T – roller & t – non-roller
 Suppose a heterozygous father is crossed with a
heterozygous mother. What is the resulting gene for
tongue rolling of the offspring?
Step 1
 Write the Given.
Parents’ Genotype and Phenotype:
Father: Heterozygous – Tt (roller)
Mother: Heterozygous – Tt (roller)
Step 2
 Write what is asked.
The resulting offspring’s gene for tongue rolling shows
the combination of the two alleles:
The roller and the non-roller
Step 3
 Do the cross using the Punnett Square.
T t
T TT Tt
t Tt tt
Step 4
 List down the possible genotypes and their respective
phenotypes and the ratios based on the results shown in the
Punnett Square.
Genotypes: Homozygous dominant (TT), Heterozygous
(Tt), Homozygous recessive (tt)
Genotypic ratio: 1:2:1, respectively
Phenotype: roller and non-roller
Phenotypic ratio: 3:1 respectively
Step 5
 Write the final answer.
Based on the Punnett square, the resulting
gene’s probability for the offspring’s tongue rolling
is 75% roller, and 25% non-roller.