Chapter 5

Inheritance
 Mendels experiment
Inheritance the passing down of genetic
instructions from one generation to the
next generation
Genetics - the study of inheritance
Gregor Mendel the father of genetics
His experiments were with the peas,
Pisum sativum
The Father of Genetics
 How Mendel
cross pollinated
the pea plants
Monohybrid inheritance
 Monohybrid inheritance
He studied one character at a time
monohybrid cross
He chose 2 contrasting parent plants
(P generation) a pure breed tall plant
and a pure breed short plant
He cross pollinated the two plants,
collected the seeds and planted them. The
F1 generation plants were all tall
The plants of the F1 generation were
allowed to self-pollinate to produce the F2
generation
When he planted the seeds of the F2
generation, the ratio of tall to short plants
is 3:1
Tall character dominant
Short character - recessive
 Genes and alleles
Genes are basic unit of inheritance which
occupy a specific position in chromosomes
A gene occupy a specific locus on a
chromosome
Alleles are alternative forms of the gene
occupying the same locus on a certain pair
of homologous chromosomes
Homologous chromosomes
Phenotype the external appearance
Genotype the genetic composition of an
organism eg. TT, Tt or tt
Dominant allele can mask the effect of
the recessive allele
Recessive allele- can only manifest itself
when the dominant allele is absent
Homozygote an organism having an
identical pair of alleles
Heterozygote an organism having
different alleles
 Genetics questions
1. In pea plants, the allele for smooth-
skinned seeds is dominant over the allele
for wrinkled-skinned seeds. Two
heterozygous plants were cross-bred.
What is the chance of producing an
offspring with smooth-skinned seeds ?
A. 25% C. 75%
B. 50% D. 100%
2. The allele for curly hair in human is
dominant to the allele for straight hair. A
man with curly hair is heterozygous while
his wife has straight hair. The probability of
getting a child with straight hair is

A. 1 B. C. D.
3.
Meiosis
 Mendels First Law of Inheritance
Law of segregation
The members of each pair of alleles
separate or segregate during the formation
of gametes. Only one allele can be carried
in a single gamete
 Dihybrid inheritance
A cross which involves two pairs of alleles
determining two characteristics

Key : R represents the dominant allele for round seed

r represents the recessive allele for wrinkled seed
Y represents the dominant allele for yellow seed
y represents the recessive allele for green seed
 Genetic question
1. In a tomato plant, the allele for tall is dominant
over the allele for short. Similarly a purple
flower is dominant over a white flower.
a) When a tomato plant that is pure breeding for
tall and purple flower is crossed with another
plant with a short and white flowers, F1 hybrids
are obtained. Crossing among the F1 hybrids
produce F2 with the following phenotypic ratio
9 tall, purple : 3 short, purple : 3 tall, white : 1 short, white

Draw a genetic diagram to show the results

b) A pure breeding tall and white flowers is
crossed with a pure breeding short and
purple flowers, what are the phenotypes of
the offspring ? Draw a genetic diagram.
 Mendels Second Law of
Inheritance
Law of Independent Assortment
Two or more pairs of alleles segregate
independently of one another during the
formation of gametes.
 Human ABO blood group
Controlled by 3 alleles
IA, IB and IO
IA and IB are dominant
over IO
IA and IB are Blood gp Genotype
codominant
A IA IA, IA IO
B IB IB, IB IO
AB IA IB
O IOIO
The antigen and the antibodies present in
the different blood groups
 Genetic questions
1. Draw a schematic diagram to show the
possible blood groups of the offspring if
a) The father has blood group AB and the
mother has blood group O
b) The father has blood group A (IA IO)and
the mother has blood group B (IB IO)
 The Rhesus Factor
The Rhesus factor is an antigen present
on the surface of red blood cells
The antigen agglutination when it reacts
with antibodies from individuals without
this antigen
The Rhesus factor is controlled by a pair
of alleles : the Rh allele and the rh allele
A person with at least one Rh allele is said
to be Rh +
 Genetics question
1. A man who is homozygous Rh+ marries
a woman who is Rh-. What are the
chances of their children being Rh- ?
2. A man who is heterozygous Rh+ marries
a woman who is Rh-. What are the
chances of their children being Rh- ?
Problem of Rh- mother with Rh+ baby
During first pregnancy, fragments of Rh+
red blood cells of the foetus may enter the
mothers blood circulation
The mother produce Rhesus antibodies
against the foetal red blood cells
In subsequent pregnancy if the foetus is
Rh+, the antibodies from the mother may
enter the foetuss blood circulation and
agglutinate the red blood cells
Autosomes and sex chromosomes
Human somatic cells have 46
chromosomes : 44 autosomes and 2 sex
chromosomes
The genotype of a female is 44 + XX
The genotype of a male is 44 + XY
The karyotype of a normal male
The karyotype of a normal female
Downs syndrome
Downs Syndrome
Turners syndrome
Turners syndrome
Klinefelter Syndrome
Klinefelter
Syndrome
Transvestite
Sex determination in offspring
 Sex-linked inheritance
Sex-linked genes carried on the X
chromosome. The Y chromosome does
not carry these genes because it is shorter
Eg of sex-linked traits are haemophilia and
colour blindness
 Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a condition in which the
blood cannot clot normally
It is due to the lack of a protein needed for
normal blood clotting
Key : H is the dominant allele for normal blood clotting
h is the recessive allele for haemophilia
XHXH ( normal female), XHY (normal male)
XhXh ( haemophiliac female), XhY
(haemophiliac male)
XHXh ( carrier female)
1. Show how haemophilia is inherited when
a) A carrier female marries a normal male
b) A normal female marries a haemophiliac
male
 Colour blindness
A condition in which a person cannot distinguish
certain colours : red-green colour
Is caused by a recessive allele on the X
chromosome
Key : B is the dominant allele for normal colour vision
b is the recessive allele for colour blindness
XBXB ( normal female), XBY (normal male)
XbXb ( colour blind female), XbY (colour blind
male)
XBXb ( carrier female)
1. Show how colour blindness is inherited in
humans
a) A colour blind man marries a normal
vision woman
b) A normal vision man marries a colour
blind woman
DNA fingerprinting
Rice with more Vitamin A