Basic Genetics

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What is genetics?

• The science of heredity

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The science of heredity
• Heredity is the passage of genetic
traits from one generation to the next

• It’s controlled by the chromosomes

in the nucleus of cells

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• Chromosomes are composed of smaller
units called genes[DNA]

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• Humans have 23 pairs of
chromosomes[46 altogether]
• The chromosomes numbered from
1-22 are called autosomes
• Pair number 23 are the sex
chromosomes

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• Genes carry hereditary information
and are found at specific locations
along the chromosomes

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• A gene’s specific position along a
chromosome is called the gene’s
locus[ the trait]

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• Locus is the types of trait it is
• Examples:
– Eye colour
– Hair texture
– Height
– Skin tone
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• Alleles: pairs of genes that carry the
same traits and are located at the
same place on pairs of
chromosomes

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• Allele describes specifically what the
locus/ trait is
• Examples:
– Blue eyes
– Curly hair
– Short stature
– Dark skin
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Genetic terms
• Homozygous[pure]:a zygote with 2
of the same kind of genes for a
particular trait

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• Heterozygous[hybrid]: when an
organism has 2 different genes for
a given trait

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• Genotype: the genetic makeup of an
individual

• Phenotype: the physical appearance

of an organism

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• Genetic diagrams and Punnett
squares are 2 methods used to
predict possible genotypes and
phenotypes among the offspring of a
particular cross

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Genetic diagram

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Punnett square[basic
genetics rules notes]

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Gregor Mendel
“father of genetics”
• He conducted controlled heredity
experiments using common garden
pea plants

• His work was the first major study

into the science of heredity

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Mendel’s 1st experiment
• Mendel used pure-breeding pea
plants

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• From the results of this 1st
experiment Mendel derived the Law
of Dominance

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Mendel’s Law of
Dominance

• A heterozygous individual has 2

different alleles
• The one that appears in the offspring
is the dominant allele
• The one that does not appear in the
offspring is the recessive allele

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Mendel’s 2nd experiment
• From the results of this 2nd
experiment Mendel derived the Law
of Segregation

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Mendel’s Law of
Segregation
• During sexual reproduction, traits
from both parents recombine
randomly during fertilization which
results in recombination

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• Then Mendel did a Dihybrid cross of
the F1 generation

• From the results of this experiment,

Mendel derived the Law of
Independent Assortment

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Mendel’s Law of
Independent Assortment

• states that allele pairs separate

independently during the formation
of gametes
• This means that traits are
transmitted to offspring
independently

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More Genetic terms:

• Incomplete dominance: when the

traits are neither dominant nor
recessive and the offspring exhibits
traits that are a blend or mix of the 2
parents

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• Codominance: when both of the
alleles are expressed in the
heterozygote

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Selective breeding
• Selective breeding is the process
of breeding plants and animals for
particular desirable traits
• Selective breeding is also used to
produce new varieties of animals
or plants
• selective breeding is sometimes
called artificial selection
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Steps of selective
breeding
• Selective breeding involves choosing
parents with particular characteristics to
breed together and produce offspring with
more desirable characteristics.
• the “best offspring” from parents are
chosen to produce the next generation
• This process is repeated continuously

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• Selective breeding can also be used
to produce tastier fruits and
vegetables, crops with greater
resistance to pests, and larger
animals that can be used for meat
by crossbreeding the desirable traits

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examples
• cows that produce lots of milk and
better quality meat
• chickens that produce large sized
eggs and large quantities of eggs
• Producing disease-resistant wheat
by crossbreeding wheat plants with
disease resistance and wheat plants
with a high yield.
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• plants with particular flower shapes
and colours

• dogs with particular physiques and

temperaments, suited to do jobs like
herd sheep or collect pheasants.

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disadvantages of selective
breeding

• Selective breeding often results in a

population of animals or plants with
very similar genetics.
• Similar genetics means that the
population will have the same
strengths but also the same
weaknesses

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• Infectious diseases are more likely
to spread through genetically similar
populations because they are
vulnerable to the same diseases
• That’s why there should ALWAYS
be genetic variation within a
species in order to prevent
extinction
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• Selective breeding often involves
breeding individuals that are closely
related, known as inbreeding.
• Inbred populations are more likely to
suffer from genetic conditions
because they are more likely to
inherit two copies of the recessive
trait, one from each parent.
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Genetic engineering
• Also called recombinant DNA,
gene manipulation, gene splicing,
or biotechnology
• The ability to combine the DNA of
one organism with the DNA of
another organism

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Steps of genetic
engineering:
• 1. an important category of
enzyme called restriction
enzyme is used to cut a
section of a gene and its
DNA from an
organism{organism #1}

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• 2. then that piece of DNA that was
cut, is inserted into another
organism{organism #2}

• 3. that section of gene from the cut

DNA from organism #1 will express
its characteristics in organism #2

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• 4. now organism #2 will express all
the characteristics from organism #1

• 5. DNA ligase is the enzyme that

joins the DNA pieces together
• **This process replaces defective
genes**

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• Through genetic engineering,
human genes can also be inserted
into bacteria to produce human
proteins and hormones
• Bacteria contain small circular
pieces of DNA called plasmids

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• Plasmids have the ability to
replicate in a new location, such
as in another cell
• By splicing a foreign gene into a
plasmid, scientist can transport
the gene to a NEW bacterial cell
and replicate it there

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• Bacteria reproduce quickly(every 20
minutes), and soon there are
thousands of bacterial cells; each
containing the newly transplanted
gene
• Now that the recombinant DNA is in
the reproducing bacteria, the amount
of modified DNA is also increasing
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• The modified DNA in the bacteria is
coding for the production of a protein
of interest to scientist
• The more bacteria cells being
produced, the more protein
produced{insulin protein example}

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Benefits of genetic
engineering
• This technique produces proteins
and hormones for human use at a
lower cost than other methods

• It replaces defective genes

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• When used in crops, genetic
engineering can create crops that
are pest and disease resistant.
• It gives plants, fruits, and vegetables
a much longer shelf life by retaining
their nutrients and staying fresh for
longer periods of time

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• There are crops that have been
genetically engineered to have
higher vitamin levels

• This method is used to combat

bacteria that are resistant to
antibiotics
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How does bacteria become
resistant to antibiotics?

• Bacteria have genes that allow

them to survive the antibiotic
• Then the bacteria reproduces
and passes the resistant gene to
their offspring

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Disadvantages of
genetic engineering:
• When you begin to alter and change
the genes of a person, you run the
risk of these genes overly mutating
and possibly starting a new illness

• Reduces genetic variation; reduces

diversity

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Cloning
• Involves producing a group of
genetically identical offspring from
the cells of an organism

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• The DNA in the offspring is
genetically identical to that of the
original organism
• In 1996, cloning was revolutionized
when Ian Wilmut and his colleagues
at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh,
Scotland, successfully cloned a
sheep named Dolly. Dolly was the
first cloned mammal.
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Advantages of cloning:
• Cloning a human could be beneficial
if the cloning produces useful stem
cells for the treatment of disease in
humans
• Cloning can be used to improve the
quality of the crops that we eat; It
makes the plants resistant to
herbicides, pest damage, infections
and diseases.
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Disadvantages of
cloning
• Increased risk of inherited diseases
stems from the fact that all clones
share the same genes and thus may
be susceptible to a particular type of
disease. This may result in one
disease wiping out a whole
population

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• lack of gene variation

• Many people believe that the

practice of cloning is wrong because
it is playing God.

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