LESSON_9_PART_I_HEREDITY_AND_EVOLUTION

HEREDITY AND EVOLUTION-PART 1
Genetics – It is a branch of biology that deals with heredity and variations.

Heredity – The transmission of genetic characters from parents to their off spring is called heredity.
Variations - The differences in the characteristics among the individuals of a species is called variations.
Chromosomes – Are the thread like structures present in the nucleus of a cell which contain heredity information of
the cell. These are made of DNA.
Homologous Chromosomes – A pair of identical chromosomes, one from father and one from mother, identical in
shape and size is called Homologous Chromosomes.
Genes – Are units of heredity that determine particular trait (Eg. Colour of hair, Blood group, Colour of Eye). Each
gene is a segment of DNA that carries instructions for making all or parts of specific protein.
Hybrid – A plant or animal produced by parents that have different heredity characteristics is called Hybrid.
Mutation- A sudden change in the structure or number of chromosomes is called Mutation. (Eg. Addition of an extra
chromosome on 21st pair of chromosomes in human being-a disorder called Down syndrome).
Character- It is the inheritable feature of an individual (Eg. Flower colour, texture of hair).
Trait - The detectable alternative form of a character. Eg. Red or White, Tall or dwarf.
Unit Factor – A unit of inheritance is called genes. Each gene controls a character. Eg ‘R’ gene for red colour flower,
‘r’ gene for white colour flower.
Allele- It represents at least two alternative form of a gene occupying the same position on a chromosome. Eg. RR, rr,
Rr.
Phenotype- The Physical appearance of an organism is called Phenotype. Eg. Red, white, tall, dwarf.
Genotype – The Genetic constitution of an organism is called genotype. Eg. RR (Homozygous Red), Rr
(Heterozygous Red), rr (Homozygous White).
Homozygous- When the two allele of a gene are similar-RR, rr, TT, tt.
Heterozygous- When the two alleles of a gene are dissimilar – Rr, Tt.
Dominant- An allele that hides or masks the expression of its alternative allele is called dominant. Eg, RR or Rr are
red because red colour allele is dominant over white colour allele.
Recessive- An allele that is masked by its alternative allele is called recessive. Eg. Rr shows red because white colour
allele is masked by red colour allele. Here white colour is recessive
F1 – First filial generation obtained by crossing two parent individuals.
F2 – Second filial generation obtained by self-crossing of F1 off springs.
Monohybrid Cross- In a Cross when only one pair of contrasting characters are taken into consideration is called
Monohybrid Cross. Eg. TT (tall) X tt (dwarf).
Dihybrid Cross- In a cross when two pairs of contrasting characters are taken into consideration is called Dihybrid
Cross. Eg. TT RR (Tall & Red) X tt rr (dwarf and white).
Mendel’s Experiments on Inheritance
Gregor Johann Mendel is the father of genetics or modern genetics. He was the first to introduce the concept of genes
as a basic unit of Heredity. Mendel called the genes as factors. He used garden pea plant (Pisum sativum) as his
experimental tool. He selected pea plant because of the following reasons-
 Short Life span
 Easy to cultivate
 Can be self-pollinated as well as cross pollinated
 Shows a number of easily visible characteristics with contrasting traits
Seven Characteristics of Pea Plant

CHARACTER DOMINANT RECESSIVE
Seed Shape Round Wrinkled
Seed Colour Yellow Green
Flower Colour Violet White
Pod Shape Full Constricted
Pod Colour Green Yellow
Flower Position Axial Terminal
Stem Height Tall Dwarf
Mendel’s Law of Inheritance

1. Law of Dominance- Out if a pair of contrasting characters present together, only one is able to express itself
while the other remains suppressed. The one that expresses the dominant character and the one unexpressed is
the recessive.
2. Law of Segregation (Also called the purity of gametes)- The two members of a pair of factors separate during the
formation of gametes.
3. Law of Independent Assortment- When there are two pairs of contrasting characters, the distribution of the
members of the one pair into the gametes is independent of the distribution of the other pair.
***Refer note book for problems related to mono hybrid and dihybrid cross
Sex Determination in Humans
In humans there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell .i.e. 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes.
Males have XY sex chromosomes and the females have XX sex chromosome. Sex determination depends on father
only. If the sperm carrying ‘X’ chromosomes fertilizes with the egg, then a female child is formed and if a sperm
carrying ‘Y’ chromosome fuse with the egg, then a male child is formed.
Important Questions:-
How environment determines the sex of a new organism?
There is an effect of temperature on fertilized eggs in determining the sex of the animal. Eg. in lizard, high
temperature results in the development of male progeny. In turtles low temperature leads to male progeny.
Explain with example how traits are expressed?
DNA is the source of information for making proteins in a cell. The section of DNA is called gene .Eg. The height of a
plant depends on the hormone. The amount of hormone depends on the process of its formation. A protein is
important for this process. If the protein works effectively, amount of hormone produced will be more. If the gene
responsible for that protein has an alteration, makes the protein less efficient. The amount of hormone produced will
be less and plant will be short. Thus trait will be expressed.
A study found that children with light coloured eyes are likely to have parents with light coloured eyes. On this
basis, can we say anything about whether the light coloured trait is dominant or recessive. Why or Why not?
Eye colour is a polygenic trait, i.e., it is affected by multiple genes. The more the number of dominant genes
you get, the darker is the colour of your eyes. So, if both the parents have light coloured eyes, it implies that
they both have either only one or two or infact, no dominant genes. They possess only recessive genes.
Therefore, the parents cannot pass on any dominant genes for eye colour to the child. So, the child must
have either the same eye colour or a lighter colour than that of the parents.
From the given study, we cannot be sure whether light eye colour is dominant or recessive. However, since
both, the children and the parents have light eye colour, there is a possibility that light eye colour is a
recessive trait. If light eye colour would have been a dominant trait, then the homozygous light eyed parents
would have only light eyed children. However, heterozygous light eyed parents might have had atleast one
recessive dark eyed child considering 3:1 ratio of Mendelian inheritance.
So, it would be difficult to conclude that light eye colour is dominant or recessive. For considering a trait as
dominant or recessive, we need data of at least three generations. The data provided is about for two
generations.
.
‘An individual cannot pass on its progeny the experiences of its lifetime’ Justify.
Experience achieved by an individual during the lifetime does not make any change in the genes of the individual.
Eg. If a person reads a book on birds, the knowledge he gets by reading doesn’t make any change in the gene, hence
the knowledge will not get transmitted to the next generation. Such trait are called acquired traits.
Acquired Traits
It is a particular characteristic that is developed during the lifetime of an individual .Such characteristics are not
controlled by genes so it cannot be passed on to the next generation.
Inherited Traits
These are the characteristics that are controlled by genes so are passed to the next generation. Eg: Hair colour, Eye
colour.
Test Cross
Test cross are used to test the genotype of dominant parent by crossing the offspring with the recessive homozygous
parent, The phenotype of dominant may either be homozygous or heterozygous. If all offspring from the test cross
show the dominant phenotype the individual in question is homozygous dominant otherwise the individual is
heterozygous dominant.

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HEREDITY AND EVOLUTION-PART 1

Genetics – It is a branch of biology that deals with heredity and variations.

Mendel’s Experiments on Inheritance

Seven Characteristics of Pea Plant

Mendel’s Law of Inheritance

Sex Determination in Humans

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