Dr.

Sandeep Kumar Raghuvanshi

Department of Zoology
Bareilly College, Bareilly
•Polygene is when a dominant allele controls only a unit or partial
quantitative expression of a trait.
•Several non-allelic genes affect same character.
•Also called multiple gene or quantitative or cumulative inheritance
as trait becomes more pronounced when dominant alleles are
added. •Each gene contributes equally.
•Environmental factors may also effect.
•Does not follow Mendelian ratio.
•Examples include skin color in human, kernel color on wheat,
human height, cob length in maize, etc.
Joseph Gottlieb Koleuter : Father of polygenic inheritance
Herman Nilsson-Elhe and East : First to discover polygenic
inheritance in kernel color in wheat
Charles B. Davenport and Gertrude C. Devenport:
Discovered that the inheritance of skin color in human occurs
by p

J.B Koleuter H Nilsson C.B Davenport

=*=--• ------ A • • 1 __I ^

in pigmentation in human
Trait Distribution

Proportion of population

7T
D*
"O
to’
Though melanin production is regulated by 3 genes as above, for
convenience, we consider only two pairs of genes.

AABB aabb
Parents Albino
Negro

Gametes AB ab

FI generati»n Mullato
Fi AB Ab aB ab
Gametes
AB AABB AABb AaBB AaBb
Negro Dark Dark Mulatto
Ab AABb AAbb AaBb Aabb
Dark Mulatto Mulatto Fair
aB AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb
Dark Mulatto Mulatto Fair
ab AaBb Aabb aaBb aabb
Mulatto Fair Fair Albino

F2 generation phenotypic Ratio= 1: 4: 6: 4: 1

Gene 1 d'd1 d1D1 d'D' D'D1 D’d1 D1d» D'D1

Gene 2 d2d2 d 2 d2 d2D2 D2d2 D2d2 D2D2 D2D2

Gene 3 d3d3 d 3 d3 d3d3 d3d3 D3D3 D3D3 D3D3

Total 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
number of
dark-skin
genes

Medium Very
dark

# of light
5
“d" alleles
U of dark
U
D’ alleles 1
Kernel Color in Wheat
aa bb cc x AA BB CC
(pure white line) (pure red line)

l
Aa Bb Cc (medium red)

Self-fertilization

AABbcc
AAbbcc AaBbcc AAbbCc AABBcc AaBBcc AABbCc
aaBBcc Aabbcc AabbCC AAbbCC aaBBCc AaBbCC
AabbCc aaBbcc AABBCc aaBbCC aaBBCC AaBBCC
aabbCC aabbCc AaBbCc AaBBCc AABbCC AABBCC
aaBbCc
aabbcc
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of red pigment alleles (A, B or C) in genotype
 REO
Par ents
AABB WHITE
aabb
1
Gametes
F* Generation
► AB i
MEOIUM ab
AaBb
Gametes

AABB AABb AaBB AaBb

RED OARK DARK MEOIUM

AABb AAbb AaBb Aabt

DARK MEOIUM MEDI UM LIGHT

AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb

OARK MEOIUM MEOIUM LIGHT

AaBt> Aabb aaBb aabb

MEOIUM LIG HT LIGHT WHITE

F2 generation phenotypic Ratio=1:4:6:4:1

 Human Eye Color
Mother

AB Ab aB ab

AB • • • 9
• #
AABB AABb AaBB AaBb

#
Father

Ab

AaBb

m # •
AABb A Abb AaBb Aabb

aB •
# # #
AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb

ab
#

AaBb Aabb aaBb aabb

 onogenic v/s Polygenic Inheritance
Monogenic Inheritance Polygenic Inheritance

Discontinuous variation Continuous variation

Single allelic gene Many non-allelic genes
Qualitative inheritance Quantitative inheritance
F1 individual resembles F1 individual are intermediate
dominant parent between the parents
Phenotype not influenced by Phenotype influenced by
environment environment
No intermediates Numerous intermediates
Eg: All seven characters studied Eg: Skin color in human, Wheat
by Mendel kernel color, etc.
YOU!