UNIT GENETICS

1
Look at the titles of the Reading and brief descriptions to preview this unit’s
content. Before you begin each, answer the questions, about it.

READING 1

GENETICS AS SCIENCE.
Genetics is the science that studies biological inheritance (the way in
which living beings transmit their characteristics from one generation
to another).

1. What is genetics?
2. What are the sciencies that relate to genetics?
3. What is the field of application in genetics?

READING 2 DNA, THE BASIS OF THE GENETICS.

READING 2
Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid is a macromolecule that encodes the
genes of cells, bacteria and some viruses.

1. How do you define DNA?

2. In which cellular structure is the DNA?
3. Why is DNA related to genetics?

READING 3 LAWS OF INHERITANCE.

This scientist performed experiments that allowed elucidating
fundamental elements of genetic inheritance.

1. Do you know Gregor Mendel? What was his contribution to

genetics?
2. What is hybrization?
3. How do you define inheritance?
 READING 1 – GENETICS AS SCIENCE.

1. Genetics studies the characteristics of living organisms as the

morphological, physiological, biochemical or behavioral are transmitted,
generated and expressed from one generation
to another, under different environmental
conditions. In this way, genetics tries to study
how these characteristics pass from parents to
children, to grandchildren, etc., since they in
turn vary generation after generation.

https://www.ibbiotech.com/es/
info/que-es-la-genetica/

2. Genetics came about with the work of the Austrian

monk Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), who spent part of his life
working with peas in his garden in the abbey of Brno. At that
time, around 1886, the work of the naturalist Charles
Darwin, who contributed to biology the first theory that
explains how living organisms have evolved.
http://www.chronicle.com/blo
gs/brainstorm/the-mendel

3. Genetics has several specialized areas such as:

Molecular Genetics: studies the molecular composition of DNA, its
replication and function of genes.
Classical or Mendelian Genetics: it is in charge of the study of the
inheritance of the characters.
Quantitative Genetics: studies how genes influence the phenotype.
Evolutionary and population genetics: studies the behavior of genes in
populations and how they influence the evolution of species.

https://es.slideshare.net/aled182/rol-de-la-genetica-en-la-ciencia-mdica-
sesin-01
 ACTIVITY 1-Describe each of the words.

Genetics

Genes

Allele

Genotype

Phenothype

Dominant

Recessive

Homozygous

Heterozygous

ACTIVITY 2-Solve the next letter soup.

ACTIVITY 3-It relates each of the descriptions according to the function its branches
in the genetics, according to the following sciences: chemistry, physics,
mathematics, medicine and hygiene and agriculture and zoo technics.

Relationship of Genetics
with other sciences.

When
When
When When

Try to know the

It deals with the
substances and Try to interpret Solve statistical favorable conditions
elements that make phenomena such as
problems of that allow the best
up living beings and osmosis, diffusion
movements and development of
the changes they and colloid
characters.
laws. animals and plants.
suffer.
 READING 2- DNA, THE BASIS OF THE GENETICS.

1. The Instructions that determine all features and functions

of an organism are in their genetic material: the DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid). The knowledge of the DNA, its
structure and function, it was important for the
development of the biotechnology modern. The structure of
the double helix of DNA, which researchers James Watson
and Francis Crick proposed in the year 1953 provided
answers to many questions that were on the inheritance.
Predicted the autorreplicacion of genetic material and the
idea that the genetic information was contained in the
sequence of the bases that make up DNA.
https://es.pinterest.com/
pin/322851867014332184
/

2. With the passing of the years and investigations, it was

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%
B3digo_gen%C3%A9tico
determined that all living things contain a similar DNA,
formed from the same units: the nucleotides. This genetic
code by which the cell instructions are written is common
to all organisms. It is to say that the DNA of a human being
can be read within a bacterium and a plant can interpret
the genetic information of another different plant. To this
property the genetic information of it known as universality
of the genetic code. The universal genetic code is one of
the basic concepts for understanding the processes of
modern biotechnology. For example, the possibility of
generating transgenic organisms, and that the instructions
of the DNA of an organism to determine new features in
totally different organisms.

http://www.enciclopediasalud.com
/definiciones/cromosoma
3. The DNA has the function to save information.
That is to say, contains instructions that determine
the shape and characteristics of a body and its
functions. In addition, dare of DNA are processed
these features to the descendants during
playback, both sexual and asexual. All cells,
prokaryotes and eukaryotes contain DNA in their
cells. In eukaryotic cells DNA is contained within
the cell nucleus, whereas in cells prokaryotes, that
do not have a core set, the genetic material are
dispersed in the cytoplasm. The DNA is organized in
chromosomes. In eukaryotic cells the
chromosomes are linear, while the agencies
prokaryotes such as bacteria, presented circular
chromosomes. For each species, the number of
chromosomes is fixed. For example, humans have
46 chromosomes in each somatic cell (non-sexual),
grouped in 23 pairs, of whom 22 are autosomes
and a pair is sexual.

4. A woman will have a pair of sex chromosomes XX and a man will have a
couple XY. Each chromosome has two arms, located above and below the
centromere. When the chromosomes are duplicated prior
to cell division, each chromosome is formed by two
molecules of DNA nations by the centromere, known as
sister chromatids. DNA is composed of two chains, each
composed of nucleotides. Each nucleotide, in turn, is
composed of a sugar (Deoxyribose), a phosphate group
and a nitrogenous base, the nitrogenous bases are four:
adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine. an adenine
always faces a thymine and a cytosine an guanine in
double chain faces. Opposing bases is said to be
complementary. The DNA adopts a form of double helix,
like a spiral staircase where the sides are chains of sugars
and phosphates connected by steps, which are the
nitrogenous bases. The DNA molecule is associated with
protein, called histone and is very convoluted and
compacted to form the chromosome.
5.
http://lagenetica.info/es/la-
vida/los-cromosomas/
https://es.slideshare.net/fabricioorkbkn/el-adn-y-el-arn-37161570
 ACTIVITY 1- Use the following terms to complete the concept map: alleles,
parents, heredity, phenotype, genes, offspring, genotype, characteristics and
dominant.

Is the passing on of

From Which are determined by sets of

instructions called?

To
Which have different forms
known as?

Which are either

Which combine to make
Which
the organisms? determine an
organisms
appearance,
known as the
-In the next activity with the descriptions you must find the words Claus
to solve the crossword puzzle.
 READING 3 - LAWS OF INHERITANCE.

1. For thousands of years farmers and herders have been selectively breeding
their plants and animals to produce more useful hybrids . It was somewhat
of a hit or miss process since the actual mechanisms governing inheritance
were unknown. Knowledge of these genetic mechanisms finally came as a
result of careful laboratory breeding experiments carried out over the last
century and a half. By the 1890's, the invention of better microscopes
allowed biologists to discover the basic facts of cell division and sexual
reproduction. The focus of genetics research then shifted to understanding
what really happens in the transmission of hereditary traits from parents to
children. A number of hypotheses were suggested to explain heredity, but
Gregor Mendel, a little known Central European monk,
was the only one who got it more or less right. His ideas
had been published in 1866 but largely went
unrecognized until 1900, which was long after his
death. His early adult life was spent in relative obscurity
doing basic genetics research and teaching high school
mathematics, physics, and Greek in Brno (now in the
Czech Republic). In his later years, he became the abbot
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/
of his monastery and put aside his scientific work.
Gregor_Mendel

2. While Mendel's research was with plants, the basic underlying principles of
heredity that he discovered also apply to people and other animals because
the mechanisms of heredity are essentially the same for all complex life
forms. Through the selective cross-breeding of common pea plants (Pisum
sativum) over many generations, Mendel discovered that certain traits show
up in offspring without any blending of
parent characteristics. For instance, the
peas flowers are purple or white--
intermediate colors do not appear in the
offspring of cross-pollinated pea
plants. Mendel observed seven traits that
are easily recognized and apparently only
occur in one of two forms:
http://www.fotolog.com/laspalomita/3
7207051/
 1. flower color is purple or white 5. seed color is yellow or green
2. flower position is axil or terminal 6. pod shape is inflated or constricted
3. stem length is long or short 7. pod color is yellow or green
4. seed shape is round or wrinkled

3. This observation that these traits do not show up in offspring plants with
intermediate forms was critically important because the leading theory in biology
at the time was that inherited traits blend from generation to generation. Most
of the leading scientists in the 19th century accepted this "blending
theory." Charles Darwin proposed another equally wrong theory known as
"pangenesis". This held that hereditary "particles" in our bodies are affected by
the things we do during our lifetime. These modified particles were thought to
migrate via blood to the reproductive cells and subsequently could be inherited
by the next generation. This was essentially a variation of Lamarck's incorrect
idea of the "inheritance of acquired characteristics. Mendel picked common
garden pea plants for the focus of his research because they can be grown
easily in large numbers and their reproduction can be manipulated. Pea plants
have both male and female reproductive organs. As a result, they can either
self-pollinate themselves or cross-pollinate
with another plant. In his experiments,
Mendel was able to selectively cross-
pollinate purebred plants with particular
traits and observe the outcome over many
generations. This was the basis for his conclusions
about the nature of genetic inheritance.

https://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es
/info/genetica/grupod/Mendel/mendel
.htm

4. He came to three important conclusions from these experimental results:

1. that the inheritance of each trait is determined by "units" or

"factors" that are passed on to descendents
unchanged (these units are now called genes)
2. that an individual inherits one such unit from each parent
for each trait
3. that a trait may not show up in an individual but can still be
passed on to the next generation.
 6. It is important to realize that, in this experiment, the starting parent plants
were homozygous for pea seed color. That is to say, they each had two
identical forms (or alleles) of the gene for this trait--2 yellows or 2 greens. The
plants in the f1 generation were all heterozygous. In other words, they each
had inherited two different alleles--one from each parent plant. It becomes
clearer when we look at the actual genetic makeup, or genotype, of the pea
plants instead of only the phenotype, or observable physical characteristics.

Mendel's observations from these experiments can be summarized in two

principles:

1. the principle of segregation

2. the principle of independent assortment

6. According to the principle of segregation, for any particular trait, the pair of
alleles of each parent separate and only one allele passes from each parent on to
an offspring. Which allele in a parent's pair of alleles is inherited is a matter of
chance. We now know that this segregation of alleles occurs during the process of
sex cell formation. According to the principle of independent assortment,
different pairs of alleles are passed to offspring independently of each other. The
result is that new combinations of genes present in neither parent are
possible. For example, a pea plant's inheritance of the ability to produce purple
flowers instead of white ones does not make it more likely that it will also inherit the
ability to produce yellow pea seeds in contrast to green ones. Likewise, the
principle of independent assortment explains why the human inheritance of a
particular eye color does not increase or decrease the likelihood of having 6 fingers
on each hand. Today, we know this is due to the fact that the genes for
independently assorted traits are located on different chromosomes.

http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_1.htm
 ACTIVITY 1 BUILDING VOCABULARY- Match each term with its
definition by writing the letter of the cored definition on the line beside
the term.

1. Genetics a) The passing of traits from parents to offspring.

b) An organism with two different alleles for a
2. Alleles trait.
3. Traits c) Factors that control traits.
d) Physical characteristics of organisms.
4. Recessive allele e) An allele whose trait always shows up in the
organism.
5. Genes
f) The different forms of a gene.
6. Hybrid g) The scientific study of heredity.
h) An allele whose trait is masked in the
7. Heredity presence of a dominant allele.
8. Dominant allele
ACTIVITY 2 - Answer the following series of questions, marking the correct option.

1. Gregor Mendel was:

an English scientist who carried out research with Charles

a)
Darwin
b) a little known Central European monk
an early 20th century Dutch biologist who carried out genetics
c)
research
2. Which of the following statements is true about Mendel?

His discoveries concerning genetic inheritance were generally

a)
accepted by the scientific community when he published them
during the mid 19th century.
He believed that genetic traits of parents will usually blend in
b)
their children.
His ideas about genetics apply equally to plants and animals.
c)

3. Mendel believed that the characteristics of pea plants are

determined by the:

a) inheritance of units or factors from both parents

b) inheritance of units or factors from one parent
c) relative health of the parent plants at the time of pollination
4. An allele is:

a) another word for a gene

b) a homozygous genotype
c) a heterozygous genotype
d) one of several possible forms of a gene
5. Phenotype refers to the ______________________ of an
individual.

a) genetic makeup
b) actual physical appearance
 c) recessive alleles

6. When the genotype consists of a dominant and a recessive

allele, the phenotype will be like _________________ allele.

a) the dominant
b) the recessive
c) Neither
7. Assuming that both parent plants in the diagram below are
homozygous, why would all of the f1 generation have yellow
phenotypes?
Help Getting Started

a) because the f1 genotypes are homozygous

b) because yellow is dominant over green
c) because both parents passed on yellow alleles
8. The idea that different pairs of alleles are passed to offspring
independently is Mendel's principle of:

a) unit inheritance
b) Segregation
c) independent assortment

9. In the diagram below, what accounts for the green pea seed in
the f2 generation?
Help Getting Started

On average, 1 out of 4 offspring of heterozygous parents will

a)
be homozygous recessive.
 b) The yellow allele is dominant over the green one.
c) The f1 generation parents are homozygous yellow.
10. The idea that for any particular trait, the pair of alleles of each
parent separate and only one allele from each parent passes to
an offspring is Mendel's principle of:

a) independent assortment
b) Hybridization
c) Segregation
 ACTIVITY 3 –Answer the following crossword.
Across
2. Mendel's principle of genetic inheritance stating that, for
any particular trait, the pair of genes of each parent separate
and only one gene from each parent passes on to an
offspring.
5. Mendel's principle of genetic inheritance stating that
different pairs of genes are passed to offspring independently
so that new combinations of genes, present in neither parent,
are possible.
9. An alternate form of the same gene.
11. The genetic makeup of an individual for a trait or for all of
his/her inherited traits—not the observable or detectable
characteristics.
12. An inheritance pattern in which a gene will have a
different effect depending on the gender of the parent from
whom it is inherited.
13. Genes whose effect does not normally occur unless
Down
1. The general term for an allele that masks the
presence of another allele in the phenotype.
3. A unit of inheritance usually occurring at a
specific location on a chromosome.
4. Twins that come from the same fertilized egg
6. A trait that is determined by the combined effect
of more than one gene.
7. An inheritance pattern in which a gene has more
than two alleles.
8. The inheritance pattern in which two different
alleles for a trait are expressed unblended in the
phenotype of heterozygous individuals.
10. He acquired his understanding of genetics
mostly through pea plant breeding experiments.
certain environmental factors are present.
16. The observable or detectable characteristics of an
individual organism; the detectable expression of a genotype.
17. Genes that are inherited by both men and women but are
normally only expressed in the phenotype of one of them.
18. The inheritance pattern in which a single allele is
responsible for a variety of traits.
21. The term for a genotype in which there are two recessive
alleles.
22. Genes that can alter how certain other genes are
expressed in the phenotype.
23. Genes that can either initiate or block the expression of
other genes.
24. The general term for an allele that is masked in the
phenotype by the presence of another allele.
14. A genotype consisting of two different alleles of
a gene for a particular trait.
15. A genotype consisting of two identical alleles of
a gene for a particular trait.
19. A theory that inherited traits blend from
generation to generation. Most of the leading
scientists in the 19th century accepted it. However,
Gregor Mendel proved that it was not correct.
20. The study of gene structure and action and the
patterns of inheritance of traits from parent to
offspring.