Genetics

Characteristics of Living things

• There are two kinds of characteristics that
make living things similar or different from
one another.
a. Species characteristics

a. Individual characteristics
a. Species Characteristics
- in certain aspects, all members of a
species are alike. For example, you inherited
certain characteristics of the human race
which make you look like other human beings.
b. Individual Characteristics
- These are the characteristics that make one
individual member of species different from
another. These are the traits that produce
individual differences.
 There are two factors that are considered
to bring about traits in every individual:
a. Heredity
b. Environment
 Heredity
• The transmission of traits from parents to
their offspring.
• Biological inheritance, or heredity, is the
key to differences between species.
 Enviroment
• Is another factor that may contribute much to
an organism’s nature.
• Even identical twins may manifest some
physical differences if they are brought up in
separate and entirely different environments.
• The environment may affect and individual’s
growth.
 Mendel’s Laws of Heredity
Why we look the way we look...
 Gregor Mendel and the Science of
Genetics
• Genetics- is the science that deals with
heredity and the factors that affecting
transmission of characteristics from one
generation to another.
• Little was known about heredity until 1900.
• During that year, the records of Gregor
Mendel, an Austrian monk was rediscovered.
• Mendel had done
research on heredity with
garden peas from 1856 to
1868. The results of his
research were published
in 1866.

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884):

Father of Genetics
 Mendel experimented with garden peas. He chose
peas because:
1. They grow quickly.
2. They produce by self-pollination meaning pea
flowers have both male and female parts.
3. They also possess characteristics that can easily be
recognized, like height, color of the flowers and
shapes of seeds.
4. Pollination can be controlled in this groups of
plants with minimum work; meaning, he could
develop plants that always produce seeds with the
same traits; and
5. Garden peas also produce enough offspring to
conduct a study.
 Seven Traits of the
Pea Plants that
Mendel Studied:
1. Seed color
 Grayish brown
 white
2. Pod Shape
 Inflated
 constricted
3. Height
 Long
 short
4. Seed Shape
 Round and wrinkled
5. Flower position
 Axial and terminal
6. Color of flower
 Purple and white
7. Color of the pod
 Green and yellow
 Review for Genetics Vocabulary
 Genetics: The scientific study of heredity
 Genes: Point on a chromosome that controls the trait.
 Allele: Alternate forms of a gene/factor. A or a
 Genotype: The gene pair an individual carries for a particular
trait symbolized with a pair of letters.
 Phenotype: The observable trait of an individual based on its
genotype. (physical traits)
 Dominant: An allele which is expressed (masks the other).
 Recessive: An allele which is present but remains unexpressed
(masked)
 Homozygous: Both alleles for a trait are the same.
 Heterozygous: The organism's alleles for a trait are different.
• Gregor Mendel performed several
experiments on garden peas. These
Experiments led to the Mendel’s law of
heredity:
Law of Dominance
Law of Segregation
Law of Independent Assortment
 The Law of Dominance
States that one trait manifests itself while the
other is hidden.
 The Law of Segregation

States that a pair of genes is segregated or

separated during the formation of sex cells.
•The purebred parental plants are r
eferred to as P generations (P for
parental).
•They composed the first set of par
ents, Mendel called them P1
(first parental generation).
•The gametes shown segregated as
factors from P1. The Male P1 (HH
) produces H and H gametes while
the female P1 (hh) produces h and
h gametes.
•As these gametes combine, they p
roduce F1 (first filial generation,
otherwise known as offspring).
•When this F2 combine they beco
me P2 and their progenies will fall
under F2.
The law of Independent Assortment
States that the separation of gene pair in a
given pair of chromosomes and the
distribution of the genes to gametes during
meiosis are entirely independent of the
distribution of other gene pairs in other pairs
of chromosomes.
 Punnett Squares
Genetic problems can be easily solved using a
tool called a Punnett square.
Tool for calculating genetic probabilities

A Punnett squar
e
• Punnett Squares : The chart used to show the
possible ways genes are combined when
passed from parents to offspring.
• Probability : The mathematical chance that an
event will happen.
 Sample Problem Solving in Genetics
• A. One-factor Cross (Monohybrid Cross)
– In pea plants, having axial position of flowers on
stem (T) is dominant over the terminal position
(t). A heterozygous axial flower position in a pea
plant is allowed to pollinate by itself.
– Give the genotypes and phenotypes of the
resulting F1.
• B. Two-factor Cross (Dihybrid)
Dihybrid crosses are made when phenotypes
and genotypes composed of 2 independent
alleles are analyzed.
Example: In pea plants, let use the same
example as in monohybrid cross in A. There,
let us combine the traits with yellow and
green seed color. Color heterozygous axial and
yellow with another of the same kind. Find
the phenotypic ratio (PR) of its offspring.
Genotypic Ratio= 1:2:2:1:4:1:2:2:1
 You look like…..
Have you ever been told that
you resemble one parent more
than the other? The reason
for this may be due to having
received more dominate genes
from the parent you resemble.
However, you receive half of
all your chromosomes and
genes from each parent.

Each parent passes to you 23

chromosomes for a total of 46
chromosomes.
 HEREDITARY CHARACTERS
• Are characters that are controlled by genes.
• GENES are the factors of heredity.
• They are transmitted from one generation to
the next.
• You must clearly understand that it is the
gene, not the character, that is passed on from
parents to offspring.
 HEREDITARY CHARACTERS

• Morphological characters are those that refer to

structure or form such as shape, length or color of
body parts.
• Physiological characters are those that refer to
functions of parts, such as rolling of the tongue,
blood clotting or color vision.
• Behavioral characters are externally directed
activities in response of stimuli. Instincts such as
crying and thumb sucking in babies are hereditary
behavioral characters.
• Sexual caharacters are those associated with being
male and female.
 “Dominant or Recessive”
1. STRATEGY:
• You will examine ten of your genetic traits.
• Take pictures for documentation
• Write also the possible genotypes for the trait
PROCEDURE:
Complete the column marked YOU for the genetic
traits to be examined. Ask your lab partner to assist
you in describing certain traits that you may not be
able to see.
TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Tongue Roller
or
Non-roller
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Ear lobe Free

or
Attached

Unattached

Attached Unattached
Unattached Attached
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Dimples Yes or No
(Dominant)

Mario Lopez Josh

Zinta Jada Smith
Holloway
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU

Handedness Left or right

Dominant
TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU FATHER MOTHER
Sight Nearsighted
(myopia)
dominant
or
Normal
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU FATHER MOTHER

Eye color Brown or not

or not

Brown eyes(domin Blue eyes

ant
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Mid-digital Present
hair or
Absent
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Hitch hicker Yes

thumb Or
No
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Widow’s Yes
peak Or
No
 TRAIT DESCRIPTION YOU GENOTYPE

Cleft chin Yes

Or
No
 SELF CHECK
2. Let us see if you understood how hereditary characters are
classified. Classify the following and present your answer in
tabulated form:
a. hitchhiker’s thumb Morphological Physiological Behaviora Sexual
l
b. Cleft chin
c. Bent little finger
d. Pubic hair
e. Lactose intolerance-inabili
ty to digest milk sugar
f. Moustache
g. Diabetes mellitus
h. Fur color in cats
i. Bird migration
j. Spinning of spider’s web