NON-MENDELIAN INHERITANCE

Green, blue, brown, black, hazel, violet, or grey. What color are your eyes?

Of course, human eyes do not come in multi-color, but they do come in many colors. How do
eyes come in so many colors? That brings us to complex inheritance patterns, known as non-
Mendelian inheritance. Many times inheritance is more complicated than the simple patterns
observed by Mendel.
This collage shows some of the variation in human skin colour, which can range from very light
to very dark, with every possible gradation in between. As you might expect, the skin color trait
has a more complex genetic basis than just one gene with two alleles, which is the type of
simple trait that Mendel studied in pea plants. Like skin color, many other human traits have
more complicated modes of inheritance than Mendelian traits. Such modes of inheritance are
called non-Mendelian inheritance, and they include inheritance of multiple allele traits, traits
with codominance or incomplete dominance, and polygenic traits, among others. All of these
modes are described below.

Non-Mendelian Inheritance

The inheritance of characteristics is not always as simple as it is for the characteristics that
Mendel studied in pea plants. Each characteristic Mendel investigated was controlled by one
gene that had two possible alleles, one of which was completely dominant to the other. This
resulted in just two possible phenotypes for each characteristic. Each characteristic Mendel
studied was also controlled by a gene on a different (nonhomologous) chromosome. As a result,
each characteristic was inherited independently of the other characteristics. Geneticists now
know that inheritance is often more complex than this.

A characteristic may be controlled by one gene with two alleles, but the two alleles may have a
different relationship than the simple dominant-recessive relationship that you have read about
so far. For example, the two alleles may have a codominant or incompletely dominant
relationship. The former is illustrated by the flower in Figure below, and the latter
in Figure below.

Codominance

Codominance occurs when both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype of the
heterozygote. The red and white flower in the figure has codominant alleles for red petals and
white petals.

Codominance.

The flower has red and white petals

because of codominance of red-petal and
white-petal alleles.
Look at the genotype AB in the ABO blood group table. Alleles A and B for ABO blood type are
neither dominant nor recessive to one another. Instead, they are codominant. Codominance
occurs when two alleles for a gene are expressed equally in the phenotype of heterozygotes. In
the case of ABO blood type, AB heterozygotes have a unique phenotype, with both A and B
antigens in their blood (type AB blood).

INCOMPLETE DOMINANCE

Incomplete dominance occurs when the phenotype of the offspring is somewhere in between

the phenotypes of both parents; a
completely dominant allele does
not occur. For example, when red
snapdragons (CRCR) are crossed
with white snapdragons (CWCW),
the F1hybrids are all pink
heterozygotes for flower color
(CRCW). The pink color is an
intermediate between the two
parent colors. When two F1 (CRCW)
hybrids are crossed they
will produce red, pink, and white
flowers. The genotype of an organism with incomplete dominance can be determined from its
phenotype (Figure below).

Incomplete Dominance. The flower has pink petals because of incomplete dominance of a red-
petal allele and a recessive white-petal allele.

Another relationship that may occur between alleles for the same gene is incomplete
dominance. This occurs when the dominant allele is not completely dominant. In this case, an
intermediate phenotype results in heterozygotes who inherit both alleles. Generally, this
happens when the two alleles for a given gene both produce proteins, but one protein is not
functional. As a result, the heterozygote individual produces only half the amount of normal
protein as is produced by an individual who is homozygous for the normal allele.
An example of incomplete dominance in humans is Tay Sachs disease. The normal allele for the
gene in this case produces an enzyme that is responsible for breaking down lipids. A defective
allele for the gene results in the production of a nonfunctional enzyme. Heterozygotes who
have one normal and one defective allele produce half as much functional enzyme as the
normal homozygote, and this is enough for normal development. Homozygotes who have only
defective allele, however, produce only nonfunctional enzyme. This leads to the accumulation
of lipids in the brain starting in utero, which causes significant brain damage. Most individuals
with Tay Sachs disease die at a young age, typically by the age of five years.

Another good example of incomplete dominance in humans is hair type. There are
genes for straight and curly hair, and if an individual is heterozygous, they will typically have the
phenotype of wavy hair.

MULTIPLE ALLELES

Many genes have multiple (more than two) alleles. An example is ABO blood type in humans.
There are three common alleles for the gene that controls this characteristic. The alleles I Aand
IB are dominant over i. A person who is homozygous recessive ii has type O blood. Homozygous
dominant IAIA or heterozygous dominant IAi have type A blood, and homozygous dominant IBIB or
heterozygous dominant IBi have type B blood. IAIB people have type AB blood, because the A and
B alleles are codominant. Type A and type B parents can have a type AB child. Type A and type
B parents can also have a child with Type O blood, if they are both heterozygous (IBi, IAi).

 Type A blood: IAIA, IAi

 Type B blood: IB IB, IB i
  Type AB blood: IAIB
 Type O blood: ii
The majority of human genes are thought to
have more than two normal versions, or
alleles. Traits controlled by a single gene with
more than two alleles are called multiple
allele traits. An example is ABO blood type.
Your blood type refers to which of certain
proteins called antigens are found on your red
blood cells. There are three common alleles
for this trait, which are represented by the
letters A, B, and O.
As shown in the table there are six possible
ABO genotypes, because the three alleles,
taken two at a time, result in six possible
combinations. The A and B alleles are
dominant to the O allele. As a result, both AA
and AO genotypes have the same phenotype,
with the A antigen in their blood (type A
blood). Similarly, both BB and BO genotypes
have the same phenotype, with the B antigen
in their blood (type B blood). No antigen is associated with the O allele, so people with the OO
genotype have no antigens for ABO blood type in their blood (type O blood).
 POLYGENIC CHARACTERISTICS

Polygenic characteristics are controlled by more than one gene, and each gene may have two
or more alleles. The genes may be on the same chromosome or on nonhomologous
chromosomes.

 If the genes are located close together on the same chromosome, they are likely to be
inherited together. However, it is possible that they will be separated by crossing-over
during meiosis, in which case they may be inherited independently of one another.
 If the genes are on non-homologous chromosomes, they may be recombined in various
ways because of independent assortment.

For these reasons, the inheritance of polygenic characteristics is very complicated. Such
characteristics may have many possible phenotypes. Skin color and adult height are examples
of polygenic characteristics in humans. Do you have any idea how many phenotypes each
characteristic has?

Human Adult Height. Like many other polygenic traits, adult height has a bell-shaped
distribution.

Many human traits are controlled by more than one gene. These traits are called polygenic
traits. The alleles of each gene have a minor additive effect on the phenotype. There are many
possible combinations of alleles, especially if each gene has multiple alleles. Therefore, a whole
continuum of phenotypes is possible.

An example of a human polygenic trait is adult height. Several genes, each with more than one
allele, contribute to this trait, so there are many possible adult heights. One adult’s height
might be 1.655 m (5.430 feet), and another adult’s height might be 1.656 m (5.433 feet). Adult
height ranges from less than 5 feet to more than 6 feet, with males, on average, being
somewhat taller than females. The majority of people fall near the middle of the range of
heights for their sex, as shown in Figure 5.14.4.

EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT ON PHENOTYPE

Genes play an important role in determining an organism’s characteristics. However, for many
characteristics, the individual’s phenotype is influenced by other factors as well. Environmental
factors, such as sunlight and food availability, can affect how genes are expressed in the
phenotype of individuals. Here are just two examples:

 Genes play an important part in determining our adult height. However, factors such as
poor nutrition can prevent us from achieving our full genetic potential.
 Genes are a major determinant of human skin color. However, exposure to ultraviolet
radiation can increase the amount of pigment in the
skin and make it appear darker.
Many traits are affected by the environment, as well as by
genes. This may be especially true for polygenic traits. Adult
height, for example, might be negatively impacted by poor
diet or childhood illness. Skin color is another polygenic trait.
There is a wide range of skin colors in people worldwide. In
addition to differences in genes, differences in exposure to
ultraviolet (UV) light cause some variation. As shown in Figure
5.14.5, exposure to UV light darkens the skin.

PLEIOTROPY
Some genes affect more than one phenotypic trait. This is called pleiotropy. There are
numerous examples of pleiotropy in humans. They generally involve important proteins that
are needed for the normal development or functioning of more than one organ system. An
example of pleiotropy in humans occurs with the gene that codes for the main protein in
collagen, a substance that helps form bones. This protein is also
important in the ears and eyes. Mutations in the gene result in
problems not only in bones, but also in these sensory organs, which
is how the gene’s pleiotropic effects were discovered.
 Another example of pleiotropy occurs with sickle cell anemia. This recessive genetic
disorder occurs when there is a mutation in the gene that normally encodes the red blood cell
protein called hemoglobin. People with the disorder have two alleles for sickle cell hemoglobin,
so named for the sickle shape (pictured in Figure 5.14.6) that their red blood cells take on under
certain conditions (like physical exertion). The sickle-shaped red blood cells clog small blood
vessels, causing multiple phenotypic effects, including stunting of physical growth, certain bone
deformities, kidney failure, and strokes.

EPISTASIS
Some genes affect the expression of other genes. This is called epistasis. Epistasis is similar to
dominance, except that it occurs between different genes, rather than between different alleles
for the same gene.
Albinism is an example of epistasis. A person with albinism has virtually no pigment in the skin.
The condition occurs due to an entirely different gene than the genes that encode skin color.
Albinism occurs because a protein called tyrosinase, which is needed for the production of
normal skin pigment, is not produced, due to a gene mutation. If an individual has the albinism
mutation, he or she will not have any skin pigment, regardless of the skin color genes that were
inherited.

Summary
 Many characteristics have more complex inheritance patterns than those studied by
Mendel. They are complicated by factors such as codominance, incomplete dominance,
multiple alleles, and environmental influences.
 Non-Mendelian inheritance refers to the inheritance of traits that have a more complex
genetic basis than one gene with two alleles and complete dominance.
 Multiple allele traits are controlled by a single gene with more than two alleles. An
example of a human multiple allele trait is ABO blood type, for which there are three
common alleles: A, B, and O.
 Codominance occurs when two alleles for a gene are expressed equally in the
phenotype of heterozygotes. A human example of codominance also occurs in the ABO
blood type, in which the A and B alleles are codominant.
 Incomplete dominance is the case in which the dominant allele for a gene is not
completely dominant to a recessive allele for the gene, so an intermediate phenotype
occurs in heterozygotes who inherit both alleles. A human example of incomplete
dominance is Tay Sachs disease, in which heterozygotes produce half as much functional
enzyme as normal homozygotes.
 Polygenic traits are controlled by more than one gene, each of which has a minor
additive effect on the phenotype. This results in a whole continuum of phenotypes.
Examples of human polygenic traits include skin color and adult height.
 Many traits are affected by the environment, as well as by genes. This may be especially
true for polygenic traits. Skin color, for example, may be affected by exposure to UV
light, and adult stature may be affected by diet or childhood disease.
  Pleiotropy refers to the situation in which a gene affects more than one phenotypic
trait. A human example of pleiotropy occurs with sickle cell anemia. People who inherit
two recessive alleles for this disorder have abnormal red blood cells and may exhibit
multiple other phenotypic effects, such as stunting of physical growth, kidney failure,
and strokes.
 Epistasis is the situation in which one gene affects the expression of other genes. An
example of epistasis is albinism, in which the albinism mutation negates the expression
of skin color genes.

Video link:
https://youtu.be/YJHGfbW55l0

References:
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book
%3A_Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/03%3A_Genetics/3.07%3A_Non-Mendelian_Inheritance

https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/chapter/5-13-non-mendelian-inheritance/