LIFE SCIENCES

GRADE 12 CAPS

GENETICS AND INHERITANCE

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 Summary Of Presentation
Introduction
Homologous pair
Chromosomes in Gametes

Genes

Phenotype and Genotype

Alleles
Dominant and recessive
Homozygous and heterozygous
Genome
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 Introduction
• This Section Is On Genetics And Inheritance.
• Therefore Before Going Any Further Lets Look At
These Terms.
• Genetics Refers To The Study Of Heredity And
The Variations Of These Inherited Characteristics.
• So Lets Look At Heredity.
• Heredity Refers To The Transfer Of
Characteristics From Parents To Offspring.
• The Set Of Characteristics That Have Been
Transferred From Parent To Offspring Is Referred
To As Inheritance.
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 Introduction
GREGOR MENDEL (1822-1884)

• Gregor Mendel Was An Austrian Monk Who Studied And

Taught Natural Sciences And Mathematics.
• He Performed Experiments On Pea Plants In His Free Time To
Study The Inheritance Of Characteristics From One
Generation To Another.
• Through His Experimental Findings, He Formulated The Basic
Laws Of Genetics.
• He Was Far Ahead Of The Scientists Of His Time, But His Work
Was Not Acknowledged In The Scientific Community.
• The Value Of His Work Was Only Recognised 20 Years After
His Death.
• Mendel Is Regarded As The 'Father Of Genetics
 Homologous Pair
• Remember That Human Somatic Cells
Have 23 Pairs Of Chromosomes.
• One Set Of 23 Is Of Paternal Origin And
The Other Set Of 23 Is Of Maternal
Chromosomes.
• This Means One Set From The Mother
And The Other From The Father.
• This Makes Them Diploid.
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 Homologous Pair
• A Pair Of Chromosomes, That Are
Identical In Shape And Structure, One
From The Mother And The Other From
The Father Is Referred To As Homologous
Chromosomes.

• Therefore Homologous Pair Refers To A

Pair Of Identical Chromosomes, 1 Of
Paternal Origin And 1 Of Maternal Origin.
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 Chromosomes In Gametes
• Sex Cells Only Have 23 Single
Chromosomes.
• Therefore They Are Haploid.
• This Means That Each Sperm Cell Will Only
Have 23 Chromosomes And…
• Each Egg Cell Will Only Have 23
Chromosomes.
• Gametes Have A Haploid Number Of
Chromosomes For 2 Reasons. 7
 Chromosomes In Gametes
1. They Are Formed By Meiosis
2. During Anaphase 1 The Homologous
Chromosomes Separate And Move Into
Different Cells.

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 Genes
• A Gene Is A Short Portion Of DNA At A
Particular Location On The Chromosome.

• This Means That A Chromosome Is Made

Up Of A Number Of Genes.

• The Position That The Gene Occupies On

A Chromosome Is Called Its Locus.

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 Genes
• For Example The Gene For Curly Or
Straight Hair Is Found At A Particular Spot
On Chromosome Number 17.

• Diploid Cells Will Have 2 Copies Of A Gene

For A Particular Characteristic. Why???

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 Genes
• This Is Because Diploid Cells Have
Homologous Chromosomes.
• Therefore There Will Be 2 Copies Of
Chromosome Number 17.

• Genes Can Control Structural And

Physiological Characteristics.
• Structural Characteristics Are Things Like
Eye Colour, Hair Colour And Height.
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 Genes
• The Inheritance Of Characteristics That Are
Controlled By Only One Gene At A Single Locus
On The Chromosome Is Called Monogenic
Inheritance.

• The Inheritance Of Characteristics That Are

Controlled By More Than One Gene At More
Than One Loci On One Or More Chromosomes
Is Called Polygenic Inheritance.
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 Phenotype And Genotype
• Phenotype Refers To The External Or
Physical Appearance Of The Organism.

• Genotype Refers To The Genetic

Composition Of An Organism.

• The Genotype Determines The

Phenotype.
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 Alleles
• ALLELES Are The
Alternative Form Of A
Gene Found At The
Same LOCUS.

• Each Gene Has A

Specific Position On A
Chromosome . This Is
Called A Locus.
Homologous Chromosomes With
Two Genes Of A Gene Pair That
LOCUS –Singular Determine The Specific Hereditary
Characteristics
LOCI- Plural
 Alleles
• For Example Eye
Colour May Be
Controlled By A
Single Gene.

• The Length Of DNA

Making Up This
Gene May Code For
Blue Or Brown Eye
Colour.
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 Alleles
• This Means That There
May Be Alternative
Forms Of The Same
Gene, For Example For
Eye Colour There May Be
A Gene For Blue Or
Brown Eye Colour.

• In Other Words, Different

Alleles Contain Different
Information About The
Same Trait Or
Characteristic.
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 Alleles
• This Means That Eye
Colour Is Controlled
By 1 Gene With 2
ALLELES.

• That Is An Allele
For Blue Eye
Colour And An
Allele For Brown
Eye Colour.
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 Alleles
A Diploid Organism May Have The Following
Combinations Of Alleles.

a. 2 ALLELES for Blue Eye Colour or

b. 2 ALLELES for Brown Eye Colour or
c. 1 ALLELE for Brown Eye Colour and 1 ALLELE for
blue eye colour.

Gametes have Only 1 Gene For Each Characteristic.

Can You Explain Why???

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 Alleles
Because…

Gametes Are Formed From MEIOSIS,

Therefore The ALLELE For Each Characteristic
Separate During Anaphase 2.

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 Alleles

Two Different Homologous Pairs (A And B) With

Different Alleles ( For Plant Length And Seed
Colour) At Different Loci.
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 Dominant And Recessive
• There are 3 Different Ways In Which Alleles May
Interact With Each Other.

• These are…

1. Complete Dominance
2. Incomplete Dominance
3. Co-dominance

We Will Look At Examples Of All 3 Types Of

Dominance, But For Now We Will Only Look At
Complete Dominance.
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 Dominant And Recessive
• In Complete Dominance One ALLELE Is
Completely Dominant Over The Other.

• The Characteristic Controlled By This Allele Will

Show Up In The Organism.

• While The Other Allele Is Masked.

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 Dominant And Recessive
• The Allele That Shows Up Is Called Dominant

• The Other One That Is Masked, This Means It

Does Not Show Up In The Organism, Is
Recessive.

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 Dominant And Recessive
• When An Organism Has A DOMINANT And
RECESSIVE ALLELE For A Characteristic Only
The DOMINANT ALLELE Shows Up While The
RECESSIVE ALLELE Is MASKED.

• The Recessive Characteristic Only Shows Up In

The Organism When That Organism Has 2
Recessive Alleles For A Characteristic.

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 Homozygous
Homozygous Is When An
Organism Has 2 Copies Of The
Same ALLELE For A Certain
Characteristic.

Homozygous Chromosomes
With The Alleles TT

Homologous Chromosomes
With The Alleles tt
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 Homozygous

Homozygous Chromosomes Homologous Chromosomes

With The Alleles TT With The Alleles tt
 Heterozygous
If An Organisms Has
2 Opposing ALLELES
For The Same
Characteristic The
Organism Is Said To
Homologous Chromosomes
Be Heterozygous. With The Alleles Tt

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Heterozygous

Heterozygous Chromosomes
With The Alleles Tt
 Genome
• The GENOME Refers To A Complete Set Of
All The Genes In All The Chromosomes Of
A Particular Species.

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Something For You To Do
Activity 5.1
Prescribed Textbook
Terminology
Pg 69
13 Marks

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