Grade 12 – Botany (Theory) (64 teaching hours)

Unit 1 – Plant Anatomy (8 teaching hours)

1.1 Plant anatomy: Concept of tissues, types of plant tissues (meristems and permanent tissues),
Anatomy of dicot and monocot root, stem and leaf Secondary growth of dicot stem. (8 teaching
hours)
Unit 2 – Plant Physiology (20 teaching hours)
2.1 Water relation: Introduction and significance of – diffusion, osmosis, and plasmolysis,
ascent of sap, transpiration and guttation. (4 teaching hours)
2.2 Photosynthesis: Introduction and significance of photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigments,
mechanism of photosynthesis (photochemical phase and Calvin-Benson cycle), C3 and C4
plants, photorespiration, factors affecting photosynthesis. (5 teaching hours)
2.3 Respiration: Introduction and significance of respiration, types of respiration, mechanism of
respiration (glycolysis, Krebs cycle, electron transport system), factors affecting respiration. (5
teaching hour)
2.4 Plant hormones: Introduction, physiological effects of auxins, gibberellins and Cytokinin’s.
(3 teaching hours)

2.5 Plant growth and movement: Concept on seed germination, dormancy, photoperiodism,
vernalization, senescence; plant movements (tropic and nastic). (3 teaching hours)
Unit 3 – Genetics (21 teaching hours)
3.1 Genetic Materials: Introduction to genetics and genetic materials, composition, structure
and function of DNA and RNA, DNA replication, introduction of genetic code. (5 teaching
hours)
3.2 Mendelian genetics: General terminology, Mendel’s experiment and laws of inheritance,
gene interactions (incomplete dominance, codominance). (6 teaching hours)
3.3 Linkage and crossing over: Concept and types of linkage (complete and incomplete), sex-
linked inheritance (color blindness in man and eye color of Drosophila), concept and
significances of crossing over. (5 teaching hours)
3.4 Mutation and polyploidy: Concept, type (gene and chromosomal mutation), importance of
mutation (positive and negative), polyploidy (origin and significance). (5 teaching hours)
Unit 4 – Embryology (8 teaching hours)
4.1 Asexual and sexual reproductions in angiosperms, pollination, fertilization, development of
male and female gametophytes, development of dicot and monocot embryos, concept of
endosperm. (8 teaching hours)
Unit 5 – Biotechnology (7 teaching hours)
7.1 Introduction, tissue culture, plant breeding, disease resistance plants, green manure and
biofertilizer, bio-pesticide, genetic engineering and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and
application, bioengineering, food safety and food security. (7 teaching hour)

Genetics

Heredity and variation

 Genetics is the scientific study of inheritance and variation.

 Inheritance is the transfer of the characters from parents to offspring’s
and variation is the changes during transfer.
 Sexually produce----offspring
 Asexually produce---clone(photocopy)
 Father of genetics: Gregor Johan Mendel
 William Bateson: Father of modern genetics
 T.H Morgan: Father of Experimental genetics.
 Heredity is transferred characters from parents to offspring or
transmission of characters from parents to offspring.
 Differences between parents and offspring are variation.

Organism that reproduce through sexual reproduction (two parents)

shows variation (as crossing over takes place) while in the case of
asexually reproducing organism there is no variation as all the characters
are contributed by single parents.

Types of variation

Several types of variation occur in different organism.

Based on involvement of cells

Somatic (environmental variation): non heritable variation due to

change in somatic cells or vegetative cells due to change in behavior, food
habit, education, exercise etc.

Germinal: Heritable variation due to change in germinal or

reproductive cells, due to mutation or crossing over.

Based on degree of variation

Continuous or discontinuous

Continuous variation Discontinuous variation

Large, distinct and sudden

Small and indistinct variations are
variations are called discontinuous
called continuous variations.
variation.

These are non-heritable. These are heritable.

 They provide raw materials for
They have no role in evolution. evolution on which selection is
based.

Environmental factor Mutation and crossing over

E.g. Shape, colour, weight E.g. Fused finger, number of finger

They are most common and occur They are not common and appear
in all organisms. suddenly.

Based on parts involved

Meristic: change in the number of the body parts like six fingers in
hands.

Substantive: change in size, colour, forms or quality of characters

Based on impact

Useful or harmful

Based on composition

Genotypic: change in number arrangement and structure of genes,

chromatids or chromosomes.

Phenotypic: change in phenotypic expression like morphology size,

shape, colour, height etc.
Significance of variation

1.Variations help some organism to fit better in the struggle for existence.

2.Variations help to adapt according to the changing environment.

3.Discontinuous variations produce new traits in the organisms.

4.Variation is essential for growth and it takes place during sexual

reproduction.

5.Variations give each organism a distinct individuality. (uniqueness)

6.Breeders can select useful variety for multiplication.

Basic terminology Used in Genetics

15-20words

Allele: An alternative form of a gene that occurs at the same locus on

homologous chromosomes, e.g., A, B, and O genes are alleles.

Cistron: It is the smallest segment of functional unit of DNA.

Autosome: A non-sex chromosome. Synonymous with somatic

chromosomes (chromosome pairs 1-22).

Chromosome: Rod-shaped structures within the cell nucleus that carry

genes encoded by DNA.

Codon: A sequence of three bases in DNA or RNA that codes for a single
amino acid. Enables specific proteins to be made by specific genes.
Crossing over: The exchange of genetic material between members of a
pair of homologous chromosomes.

Diploid number of chromosomes: The number of chromosomes found

in somatic cells, which in humans is 46.

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. Composed of nucleic acids, these

molecules encode the genes that allow genetic information to be passed
to offspring.

DNA polymerases: Enzymes that can synthesize new DNA strands using
previously synthesized DNA (or RNA) as a template.

Dominant gene: A gene is dominant if it is expressed when heterozygous.

Gamete: A reproductive sex cell (ovum or sperm) with the haploid

number (23) of chromosomes that results from meiosis.

Gene: A segment of a DNA molecule that codes for the synthesis of a

single polypeptide.

Genome: Term used to denote the entire DNA sequence (gene content)
of a gamete, person, population, or species.

Genotype: Genetic composition of an organism. Genotype of pure tall is

TT and hybrid tall is Tt.

Phenotype: The external appearance of an organism. Example the

phenotype of TT is tall and tt is dwarf.
Haploid number of chromosomes: The number of chromosomes found
in sex cells, which in humans is 23.

Hemizygous: Inheritance of an X-linked gene in males, e.g. the Xga gene

or the gene for hemophilia A is said to be hemizygous in males since they
have only one X chromosome.

Heterozygous: The situation in which allelic genes are different, e.g. the
Tt (hybrid) genotype

Homologous chromosomes: A matched pair of chromosomes, one from

each parent, e.g., two #6 chromosomes.

Homozygous: The situation in which allelic genes are identical, e.g., the
KK genotype.

Clone: Group of organism raised from a single parent by asexual

reproduction are called clone and are genetically identical.

Mutation: sudden heritable changes in genetic materials.

Mutant: organism having genetic change due to mutation

Muton: Smallest function unit of DNA which can undergo mutation.

Nucleotide: Unit of DNA composed of phosphate, sugar, and nitrogen

bases.

Monohybrid cross: cross between two parents that differ in a single pair
of contrasting characters.
Dihybrid cross: cross between two parents differing in two pairs of
contrasting characters.

Back cross: cross between F1 hybrid and any one of two parents from
which they are derived.

Test cross: the cross of F1 hybrid with recessive parent is called test cross.

Reciprocal cross: in this cross sex of the parents are reversed with
reference to first cross.

F1 generation: the offspring’s produced from cross of pure breeding

individual are called F1 gen.

F2 Generation: offspring produced by selfing of F1 individuals are called

F2 gen.

Punnett square: graphic method to study all possible results of various

cross.

Recessive allele: an allele that express itself only in the absence of

dominant allele.

Sex chromosomes: The chromosomes that determine sex. XX in females

and XY in males.

Somatic chromosome: A non-sex chromosome (soma=body). Synonym

is autosome.
Transcription: Synthesis of single-stranded RNA by RNA polymerase
using DNA as a template. The process in the nucleus whereby DNA is
transcribed into mRNA.

Translation: The process of translating the codon sequence in mRNA

into polypeptides with the help of tRNA and ribosomes.