Genetics

Chapter 4A
Principles of Heredity
 Heredity

The study of the

inheritance, or the
passing of traits from
parents to offspring.
 Mendel’s
Experiments
Characters – type of characteristics
like seed color or shape.
Trait – the specific characteristic like
round or wrinkled seed shape and
yellow or green seed color.
 Cross

Mating organisms to
test how they inherit
traits
 Mendel’s Experiments
Tall Plants vs. Short Plants

Where did the short plant

come from?

Hybrids : F1 F2 Generation
Purebreds
Generation Created by Self-
Created by Self-
Created by Cross- pollination of F1
pollination
pollination
Pea Pod Color
 Mendel’s Theories

• Traits are controlled by

factors and each offspring
has two factors for each
trait.
• We now call these factors,
Genes
 Alleles

The different forms of

the gene for a
particular trait

Example is height in
pea plants: one allele
codes for tall and one
allele codes for short
 Mendel’s Theories

• If an organism’s two alleles

for a trait are the same, the
organism is purebred for
that trait.
– Or homozygous
 Mendel’s Theories

• If an organism’s two alleles

for a trait are different, the
organism is hybrid for that
trait.
– Or heterozygous
 Mendel’s Theories

• Each allele in a set of two alleles

for a trait is either dominant or
recessive.
• When there is one of each, the
dominant trait will be shown.
• The recessive trait will only be
seen if both alleles are recessive.
 Mendel’s
Experiments
Dominant
and
Recessive
Alleles

dominant
traits
dominate
 Phenotype

The way a plant or

organism looks

The trait that an

organism expresses
 Genotype

The specific genes an

organism contains; its
genetic makeup

• The genotype determines

the phenotype
 Mendel’s Theories

• In the mid-1900s scientists

described the DNA molecule
and began to theorize
about genes.
 Genetics of
Organisms
4.2 Punnett Squares
 Punnett Squares
• Used to represent
genetic crosses
• Used to determine the
possible genotypes of
the offspring.
F1 generation

F2 generation
Punnett Squares

t t

T Tt Tt

T Tt Tt
Punnett Squares

T t

T TT Tt

t Tt tt
 Punnett Squares
• Each box represents a
genetic possibility for
the offspring.
1. In guinea pigs, the allele for short hair is
dominant. Use the letter “H” to represent
short hair.
a. What genotype would a heterozygous
short haired guinea pig have? _______
b. What genotype would a purebred short
haired guinea pig have? _______
c. What genotype would a long haired
guinea pig have? ________
2. Show the cross for a hybrid short haired
guinea pig and a long haired guinea pig.
A. What are the possible genotypes and the
percentage of each?
B. What are the possible phenotypes and
the percentage of each?
3. Show the cross for two
heterozygous guinea pigs.
A. What percentage of the offspring
will have short hair? ________
B. What percentage of the offspring
will have long hair? _______
 Variations

• In incomplete dominance, two

different alleles are blended together.
• There is no “hidden” trait.
• The hybrid offspring have a phenotype
that blends the two parent’s
phenotypes.
– Snapdragons
 Variations

• In codominance, both
forms of the trait are seen
in the organism.
• The phenotypes of the
parents are not blended.
– Roan cattle
– Camellia flowers
 Variations

• There can be more than two

alleles for a particular gene.
• Multiple alleles
– Human blood type – 3 alleles
Human Blood Types
 Variations

• In polygenic inheritance,
two or more genes are
responsible for producing a
single trait.
– Human skin color
– Height
– intelligence
 4.8 NATURAL SELECTION
• When people breed animals and
plants for specific traits, they
are participating in artificial
selection.
– This is not a random process.
• Artificial Selection
• In nature, there is no human to
guide the process.
p. 80

adaptation
an inherited trait that helps an
animal survive to reproduce
p. 81

natural selection
the process through which
organisms with certain
adaptations survive to pass on
their traits to a greater number
of offspring than other
organisms do
NATURAL SELECTION AND
WORLDVIEW
• Natural selection was central to
the work of Charles Darwin.
– He argued that it was the means
by which all creatures descended
from an original common ancestor.
• We observe natural selection in
the real world.
• Creationists and evolutionists
disagree on how far natural
selection can go.
Kind – a distinct group of organisms
that God created to reproduce.
 Natural selection can’t create new
genetic information; it can only
remove genetic information from a
population. Natural
selection affects existing traits that
God programmed inside the cell to
produce the amazing variety that we
see in living things.

p. 82
What factors determine your
characteristics?
1. Genetic factors
2. Environmental factors
3. Spiritual factors
 Sex Chromosomes

• Sex chromosomes are the

chromosomes that
determine whether an
organism is male or female.
– 23rd pair in humans
– Females have two X
chromosomes
 Sex Chromosomes

• Sex chromosomes are the

chromosomes that
determine whether an
organism is male or female.
– Males have one X and one Y
chromosome
 Sex Chromosomes

• It is the X or Y chromosome
of the father’s sperm that
determines the sex of the
child.
 Sex Chromosomes
Mother
X X

X XX XX Girl
Father
Y XY XY Boy
Sex-Linked Traits

Inherited traits
controlled by genes
located on the sex
chromosomes
 Sex Chromosomes

• Most sex-linked traits are

X-linked, with genes on the
X chromosome.
– Red-green colorblindness
 Carriers

People who have the

allele for a trait but
do not express the
trait themselves
George and Maria Barnett
Maria
XG Xg

XG XGXG XGXg
George
Y XGY XgY Colorblind
 Genetics of
Organisms
Chapter 6C
Genetic Disorders
 What the Bible Says

• God makes people exactly

the way He wants them to
be.
• God controls a baby’s
development.
 What the Bible Says

• God’s original creation was

very good.
• Human sin is the cause of
pain and hurt in this world.
 What the Bible Says

• God can use disabilities to

give grace and strength.
• God can use disabilities to
accomplish His will.