Heredity and variability.

Basic terms of
genetics.
1. Heredity and variability:
1.1. heredity (inheritance) – the passing on of traits from the parents to
their offspring
Due to heredity, the offspring looks like the parents and can adapt to
the changes of the environment.
1.2 variability – the tendency of individual genetic characteristics in a
population to vary from one another
Genetic variability in a population is important
for biodiversity.
2. Genetics as a biological science.
Genetics is the study of inheritance. It explains why organisms inherit
certain features from their parents and what features may be passed
on to their offspring.

Genetics application:
• Study of the influence of radiation, chemicals and lifestyle on
hereditary, cancer and autoimmune diseases.
• Genetically modified organisms.
• Gene therapies.
• The way hereditary diseases are diagnosed, treated, and prevented.
3. Basic terms of genetics:
3.1 Gene – a section of DNA which codes for a particular protein
3.2 Alleles – different forms of the same gene
e.g. height in pea plants is controlled by two alleles T and t
- Dominant alleles – alleles that always appear in the phenotype (they
are expressed), shown by capital letters
- Recessive alleles – alleles that are only expressed if both alleles of a
pair are recessive, shown by lower case
According to the combination of dominant and recessive alleles, the
organisms can be:
- Homozygote – two alleles of a pair are the same (e.g. TT or tt)
- Heterozygote – two alleles of a pair are different (e.g Tt)
 3.3 Genotype – refers to the genetic code of the individual. This is all the
information that is found inside the individual’s cells.
3.4. Phenotype – the features resulting from expression of the genes and
their interaction with the environment (the expression of the genotype that is
visible to the others).