Non-Mendelian Genetics

Inheritance Concepts Mendel

Never Imagined!
 Mendelian Genetics
(Complete Dominance)
 Only two possible Phenotypes: either
dominant or recessive

 Tall plant X Short plant = Tall plant

(TT) (tt) (Tt)
 Non-Mendelian Genetics
 But, not all inheritance is based on the
rules of Complete Dominance!!
 Introduction
 Mendelian Genetics describes inheritance
patterns based on Complete Dominance or
Recessiveness.
 There are other types of inheritance that
Mendel never considered:
 Incomplete Inheritance
 Codominance
 Multiple Alleles
 Polygenic Traits
 Sex-linked
 Incomplete Inheritance
The hybrid (heterozygous) offspring
displays a THIRD Phenotype!! Neither trait
is completely dominant, as a result, there
appears to be a blending phenotype.
Red Flower X White Flower = Pink
(RR) (WW) (RW)
Incomplete Inheritance Problem
 What is the probability of pink flowers if
pink flowers are bred with red flowers?

50%
chance
of Pink
Flowers
Incomplete Inheritance Problem
 What is the probability of white flowers if
pink flowers are bred with pink flowers?
 CoDominance
 Both traits are dominant, and show up in
the phenotype together. Co means
“together”
 Black Cow X White Cow = Spotted Cow
(BB) (WW) (BW)
 CoDominance Problem
 What are all the possible phenotypes
when two spotted cows are bred?

Possible
phenotypes
are a black
cow, 2
spotted
cows, and a
white cow
 Below are imaginary organisms. Note horn shape, leg
length, fur color and tail shape. Now determine the type of
inheritance of the four traits by examining the genotypes of
the parents and offspring.
Blood type displays both co-dominance
and complete dominance
 Red Blood cells can either have a carbohydrate on
their surface or not.
 The presence of a carbohydrate (I) is dominant to the
absence of a carb (i).
 Additionally, there are two types of carbs that may
exist on the surface of RBCs called A (IA) and B (IB).
 Cell surface carbs A and B are codominant, which means
they could also show up at the same time on an RBC.
 Blood Type Inheritance Rules:
1. A person with the IA allele Cells Genotypes Blood types
will have A carbohydrates.
A A Type A
2. A person with the IB allele
will have B carbohydrates.
I i, I I
A
blood
3. A person with the recessive Type B
i allele will have no
carbohydrates.
I i, I I
B B B
blood
4. Or a person with both IA and Type AB
IB alleles will have both A II
A B
blood
and B carbohydrates on
their cells. Type O
ii blood
Blood Type Problems
If a woman with AB blood
has children with a man
who has type O, what will
be the possible genotypes
of their children? What will
be their blood types?

IA IB
i IA i IB i
i IA i IB i
Blood Type Problems
Blood Type Problem 2: A
woman with type B blood
has a child with type O
blood. How is this possible
if her husband has type A
blood?
 Multiple Alleles
 When more than 2 varieties exist in a trait.
Many animals have a variety of coat
colors.
 Polygenic Traits
Require more than one gene (allele) to
determine trait.
Skin tone is determined by 4-6 genes—that
means that there may be six different
chromosomes involved!
 Non-Mendelian Inheritance
 In sex – related inheritance, most traits
carried are present on only th X –
chromosome. Y – chromosome is smaller,
and so , very few genes are located on
this chromosome. Sex traits can be
categorized into 3 types of inheritance:
1. Sex – linked trait – trait that is controlled
by a gene or an allele located on the sex
chromosome.
 Non – Mendelian Inheritance
2. Sex – limited traits – traits that are visible
only within one sex.
3. Sex – influenced trait – trait that is
controlled by a pair of alleles found on the
autosomal chromosomes, but its phenotypic
expressions can be influenced by the
presence of certain hormones ( estrogen,
progesterone, etc.)
 Sex-linked Inheritance
 Genes for some traits are found on the sex
chromosomes (X or Y)
 Most of these traits are recessive the normal gene
is dominant
 Heterozygous Females (XCXc) are carriers. They
do not show the trait, but carry a gene for the trait.
 Homozygous Females (XcXc) have the trait
 Males with the gene (XcY) have the trait.—They do
not have another X to counterbalance the affected
gene.
 Sex – linked traits
 Hemophilia is usually an inherited bleeding
disorder in which the blood does not clot
properly. This can lead to spontaneous
bleeding as well as bleeding following
injuries or surgery. Blood contains many
proteins called clotting factors that can
help to stop bleeding.
 Hemophilia
Genotypes Phenotypes
Normal Female
X X
H H

XH X h Normal female but carrier of

the gene for hemophilia
Xh X h Hemophiliac Female
Normal Male
XH Y
Xh Y Hemophiliac Male
 Sex – linked traits
 Hemophilia A, also called factor VIII
(8) deficiency or classic hemophilia, is a
genetic disorder caused by missing or
defective factor VIII (FVIII), a clotting
protein. Although it is passed down from
parents to children, about 1/3 of cases
found have no previous family history.
 Sex – linked traits
 Factor IX deficiency (hemophilia B) is a
hereditary blood coagulation disorder.
Females with one defective factor IX gene
are carriers (they don't have symptoms).
In women who are carriers, their male
babies have a 50% chance of having the
disease, while their female babies have a
50% chance of being a carrier.
 Sex – Linked Trait
 What is color blindness? If you have color
blindness (color vision deficiency), it
means you see colors differently than
most people. Most of the time, color vision
deficiency makes it hard to tell the
difference between certain colors. Usually,
color vision deficiency runs in families
 Color blindness
 Deuteranomaly is the most common type
of color blindness, affecting about 6% of
men. It is characterized by a reduced
sensitivity to green light, making it difficult
to differentiate between shades of red and
green. Protan (“pro-tan”) is the second
most common and is characterized by a
reduced sensitivity to red light.
 Color blindness
Genotypes Phenotypes
Normal Female
X X
C C

XCXc Normal female but carrier of

the gene for color blindness
Xc Xc Colorblind Female
Normal Male
XCY
Xc Y Colorblind Male
 Color blindness is a sex-linked
recessive trait. The gene for this trait is
inherited through the X chromosome.

If a woman with normal vision

has children with a man
who is colorblind, Xc Y
what are the chances
that their children will be
colorblind?
XC XC Xc XC Y
Will any children be carriers
of the trait? XC XC Xc XC Y
 Non-Mendelian Genetics
What are the similarities and differences
between each of these forms of inheritance?
How will you remember? What are
examples of each type?
 Incomplete inheritance
 CoDominance
 Multiple Alleles
 Polygenic Traits
 Sex-linked inheritance
 Solve the Problems
• Red-green color blindness is inherited as a
sex-linked recessive. If a color-blind woman
marries a man who has normal vision, what
would be the expected phenotypes of their
children with reference to this character?
• Hemophilia in humans is due to an X-
chromosome mutation. What will be the
results of mating between a normal (non-
carrier) female and a hemophilac male?
 Sex – Limited Trait
 A long and narrow face, flexible fingers,
huge ears, and huge testicles are all
possible physical characteristics. Around a
third of all those affected show ...
 Sex – Limited Trait
 The genes that control milk yield and
quality in dairy cattle, for example, are
present in both bulls and cows, but their
effects are expressed only in the female
cattle. Beard in males Barred coloring
in chickens normally is visible only in the
roosters. Secondary hormonal
development.
 Sex – Influenced Traits
 Male Pattern Baldness Length of index
finger Body hair Muscle mass,
 Male androgenetic alopecia (MAA, male
pattern baldness) is the most common
cause of hair loss in men. The hair loss is
progressive. Gradual conversion of
terminal hairs into vellus hairs occurs in a
highly reproducible pattern, denudes the
scalp and leads to baldness.Ene 25, 2023
Pattern Baldness
Pattern Baldness
 Female Pattern Baldness
 The most common genetic condition is
known as female-pattern hair loss, or
androgenic alopecia. Women with this
condition might notice a widening of the
part at the top of the head, often beginning
when a woman is in her 40s or 50s. You
might experience this if you inherit certain
genes from one or both parents.Mar 27,
2020
Pattern Baldness in Female