Heredity

# Introduction:
● Heredity involves the transmission of
characteristics from one generation to the
next, as traits are passed down from parents

● Heredity is the result of genes being

inherited.
● Study of Heredity and Inheritance is term
Genetics
● A trait that is Genetically passed down from one
generation to another is termed as Inherited
trait.

Variations-> Variations in traits among individuals in a species arise

from genetic mutations and environmental factors, such as diet,
chemicals, and pollution.

Inherited Traits-> Inherited traits are characteristics passed from

parents to offspring through generations, controlled by genes. Examples
include height and skin color.

# Gregor Johann Mendel:

He is credited with establishing fundamental laws of
inheritance, earning him the title "Father of Genetics"
worldwide.
He chose garden peas for his experiments for the following reasons:

● Pea plants have Several Contrasting

Characteristics like height, flower
Colour, Seed Colour a Shape.
● Self-pollinated plant in nature.
● Cross-pollination can be done
Artifically.
● Short life Span
● Easy to cultivate
Not : The s i t fi na of pe is Pis sa m.
Important Terms:

● Allele-> An allele is one of the various versions of a specific gene,

such as for height.
● Dominant Allele-> A dominant allele, indicated by a capital letter (e.g.,
"T"), expresses its phenotype even when another allele is present.
● Recessive Allele-> The phenotype is expressed only when both alleles
are present, and it is represented by a lowercase letter, as in "t."
● Genotype-> The genetic recipe of a person, like whether they are
entirely tall or a mix of tall traits.
● Phenotype-> Phenotype is an organism's visible traits resulting from
its genes and environment. E.g- tall or dwarf
● Chromosomes-> Chromosomes are thread-like structures in the cell
nucleus that carry genetic information (DNA).
● Hybrid-> An individual with two distinct alleles for the same trait,
like "Tt" for height (tall).
● Monohybrid Cross-> A cross that focuses on one pair of contrasting
traits is referred to as a monohybrid cross, resulting in a 3:1 ratio
known as the monohybrid ratio.
● Dihybrid cross-> A cross that involves two pairs of contrasting traits
is termed a dihybrid cross, and it yields a 9:3:3:1 ratio, which is known
as the dihybrid ratio.
● Dominant Trait-> The trait that can be visibly expressed in the first
generation.
● Recessive Trait-> The trait that is not able to express itself in F1
generation but reappears in f2 generation.
● Homozygous-> Homozygous means having two identical alleles for a
particular gene.
●

● Heterozygous-> It refers to having two different alleles for a

specific gene.
● Dominant ene-> The gene that can be expressed in both homozygous
and heterozygous conditions.
● Recessive Gene-> A gene that can only express itself in the homozygous
condition.
● Inherited traits from previous generations provide a shared body plan and
introduce subtle modifications for the next generation.
● Depending on the nature of variations, various individuals may possess
diverse advantages.
Mendel 's Experiment:
Mendel found that traits can be dominant or recessive. When he crossed a tall
pea plant with a short one, all offspring in the first generation were tall. To
understand what happened to the short trait, he self-pollinated the
first-generation plants and observed that in the second generation, both tall
and short plants were present in a 3:1 ratio. This led Mendel to conclude that
the short trait was present in the first generation but unable to express itself.
Mendel crossed round and yellow seed pea plants with green and
wrinkled seed pea plants. In the parent generation, all offspring had a
round shape and yellow color. To understand what happened to the
wrinkled and green traits, he self-pollinated the first-generation plants.
In the second generation, he observed new combinations alongside the
parental traits, showing that shape and color traits are inherited
independently.
 # Important Questions:
1) Explain Mendel’s concept of heredity, by giving three points.
Solution:
Mendel's work on pea plants led to the discovery of three fundamental laws of inheritance:
1. Law of Segregation: Genes come in pairs, and during gamete formation, these genes
segregate randomly so that each gamete receives only one gene from the pair.
2. Law of Independent Assortment: Genes for different traits are sorted independently
during gamete formation, meaning the inheritance of one trait is not dependent on the
inheritance of another.
3. Law of Dominance: When an organism has alternate forms of a gene (alleles), one form (the
dominant allele) will be expressed in the phenotype if present.
These laws laid the foundation for our understanding of genetics and inheritance.

2) A pea plant with a blue color flower denoted by BB is cross-bred with a pea
plant with a white flower denoted by ww.

a. What is the expected color of the flowers in their F1 progeny?

b. What will be the percentage of plants bearing white flowers in F2 generation, when the
flowers of F1
plants were selfed?
c. State the expected ratio of the genotypes BB and Bw in the F2 progeny.

Solution:
a. F1 generation — blue.
b. 25%
c. BB : Bw = 1 : 2.

3) In a pea plant, find the contrasting trait if:

a. the position of the flower is terminal.
b. the flower is white in color.
c. shape of the pod is constricted.

Solution:
In a pea plant, find the contrasting trait if:
a. the position of the flower is terminal.
b. the flower is white in color.
c. shape of the pod is constricted.
Chromosomes:
Chromosome pairs refer to the two sets of chromosomes present in most
human cells. Each set consists of 23
individual chromosomes, with one set
inherited from the mother and the
other from the father. These pairs
include sex chromosomes (X and Y in
humans) and autosomes, which carry
genetic information and are essential
for genetic inheritance.

Sex Determination:

# In humans, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes,

making a total of 46 chromosomes. Among these, 22

pairs are autosomes, and one pair is sex
chromosomes. In males, the sex chromosomes are XY,
and in females, they are XX. The sex of a child is
determined during fertilization. If an X-carrying
 sperm fertilizes the egg, the child will be female (XX), and if a Y-carrying sperm
fertilizes the egg, the child will be male (XY). Therefore, the sperm's genetic
contribution determines the child's sex.

Haploid & Diploid Cells:

Diploid:
Dip me ha g t o se of pa c om es in a
ce or or s .
Haploid:
Hap me ha g a si l se of un ed c om es
in a ce or or s .
 # TOP 7 QUESTIONS
1) “It is a matter of chance whether a couple will have a male or a female child.”
Justify this statement by drawing a flow chart. (Foreign 2015,2017)

Solution:
Women produce only one type of ovum (carrying X
chromosome) and males produce two types of sperms
(carrying either X or Y chromosome) in equal proportions. So
the sex of a child is a matter of chance depending upon the
type of sperm fertilizing the ovum.

2) Why traits such as intelligence and knowledge cannot be passed on to the next
generation?
Solution:
Traits such as intelligence and knowledge are not heritable traits, which do not bring
upon any changes in the DNA of the germ cells and, therefore, cannot be passed on
to the progeny.

3) Distinguish between inherited traits and acquired traits in a tabular form, giving one
example of each. (All India 2017)

Solution:

4) What is a dominant trait with respect to height in pea plants? Give any two
examples.
Solution:
Characters/Traits like ‘T’ are called dominant trait (because it express itself)
‘t’ are recessive trait (because it remains supressed).

5) What are chromosomes? Explain how sexually reproducing organisms the number of
chromosomes in the progeny is maintained. (Outside Delhi 2015)

Solution:
Chromosomes - Thread-like structures made up of DNA found in the nucleus. The
original number of chromosomes becomes half during gamete formation. Hence, when
the gametes combine, the original number of chromosomes gets restored in the
progeny

6) Rekha has a dark complexion and seeks beauty products to lighten her skin. Her
friend Lila tells her that skin color is determined by birth and advises against
excessive use of such products. (All India 2013)
a. What might have caused Rekha’s color to be dark?
b. Is it possible that all the family members of Rekha’s family were dark?
c. What value do you learn?
Solution:
a. Her dark colour may be due to genetic inheritance.
b. All may not be dark, depending upon the genes inherited and the environmental conditions
that each one of them living in.
c. Awareness, logical thinking, and scientific temperament.

7) How do Mendel’s experiment show that traits are inherited independently?

Solution:
Mendel performed dihybrid crosses by mating pea plants with different traits in two
characteristics, like yellow round seeds with green wrinkled seeds. In the F2 generation, he
observed both parental (yellow round and green wrinkled) and recombinant (yellow wrinkled
and green round) phenotypes. This showed that these traits separated from their original
combinations and were inherited independently.