GENERAL BIOLOGY 1

INTRODUCTION TO
GENETICS
 Learning Objectives
• To learn how living organisms came
to acquire their physical
characteristics
• To understand how traits are
replicated and transmitted from
generation to generation
• To learn the difference between
dominant/recessive allele versus
dominant/recessive trait
 What Is Genetics?

Genetics is the science that deals with

heredity and variation among living
organisms.
 Heredity: the Heart of
Genetics
Heredity involves the transmission of traits from
parents to offspring. It is the heart of the study of
genetics as it perpetuates the propagation of
species for all forms of living organisms ensuring
their survival and adaptation from generation to
generation.
 Cell Division and Heredity
Hereditary transmission
originates from cell division:
during mitosis for prokaryotic
organism’s asexual
reproduction and during
meiosis for eukaryotic
organism’s sexual
reproduction. The cell
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(biology)#/media/File:Three_cell_growth_types.svg
organelle involved is the
nucleus, the hereditary control
center of the cell.
 The chromatin of the
nucleus is a macromolecule
bundle made up of proteins,
ribosomes, and DNA. When
it condenses during cell
division, chromosomes are
created which, in turn,
becomes the basis for genes
Image credit: m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleoplasm#/media/File:Diagram_human_cell_nucleus.svg
whose pairing of traits
serves as the basis for
inheritance variation.
 Cell Nucleus and Heredity
Deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA) is a double-stranded
helix of the five-carbon
sugar deoxyribose and
contains the cell’s genetic
information. It must be
replicated during cell division
in order for parent’s traits to
Image credit:
transfer to daughter cells.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA#/media/File:DNA_Structure%2BKey%2BLabelled.pn_NoBB.png
 DNA Replication happens
with the help of the enzyme
helicase, which breaks apart
into two pairs the hydrogen
bonds surrounding the
nitrogen bases. As they
unwind, a Y-shaped fork
pattern of alphabet-like
coding emerges.
Image credithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_replication#/media/File:DNA_replication_split.svg
 Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is
a single strand ribose that
will take on three forms
during the protein
synthesis stage:
messenger RNA (mRNA),
ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and
transfer RNA (tRNA).
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA#/media/File:Piwi-siRNA-basepairing.png
 Protein Synthesis starts
when the mRNA copies and
transcribes the amino acid
codes of the gene
information from the DNA
strand.

Image credit: http://mrskingsbioweb.com/images/proteinsynthesis.gif

 Next, the rRNA will read the
mRNA’s copied information
as a codon code of three
consecutive nitrogenous
bases.

Image credit: http://mrskingsbioweb.com/images/proteinsynthesis.gif

 Translation occurs when
the tRNA begins moving
the anticodon (duplicate
copy of the mRNA codon)
to the ribosomes. This
cycle ends when all codons
have been converted into
amino acids.
Image credit: http://mrskingsbioweb.com/images/proteinsynthesis.gif
How Offspring Inherit Traits

Alleles are sets of gene pairings that

organisms inherit from their parents—one
from the male and one from the female for
diploid eukaryotes that reproduce through
meiosis or sexual reproduction.
 Total pairs of allele
combination depend on the
organism’s chromosomal
number. For humans, it is
52, which becomes 26 due
to diploid pairing from male
and female gamete parents.

Image credit: http://apbioextras2014.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/4/1/22410714/4495746.jpg

 These allele pairings consist
of different traits like color of
eyes, color of hair, skin
complexion, texture of hair,
etc.

Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine_coat_color_genetics#/media/File:Wild_horse_reconstruction.jpg

 One of these allele pairings
is about the gender of the
offspring which in humans is
chromosome 44 xx for
female and xy for male.

Image credit: https://en.wiki2.org/wiki/Sex-determination_system#/media/File:Types_of_sex_determination.png

 Alleles can be dominant
allele or recessive allele.
Darker color is the dominant
allele while the paler color is
recessive allele. Curly hair is
dominant allele while straight
hair is recessive allele.

Image credit: http://bio.libretexts.org/TextMaps/Map%3A_Online_Open_Genetics_(Nickle_and_Barrette-

Ng)/07%3A_Linkage_and_Mapping/7.5%3A__Inferring_Recombination_From_Genetic_Data
 Dominant trait means that
the dominant allele will
appear. Example: If one
parent contributed a gene for
dark hair and the other
parent a gene for light hair,
the offspring will have dark
hair.
Image credit: http://apbioextras2014.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/4/1/22410714/4495746.jpg
 Recessive trait happens
when two recessive alleles
appear on the offspring. For
example, a blonde haired
father and a blonde haired
mother will have a blonde
haired baby.

Image credit: http://apbioextras2014.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/4/1/22410714/4495746.jpg

 Incomplete dominance is
what happens when the
dominant traits failed to hide
the recessive traits and thus
the offspring does not
resemble either of the
parents.

Image credit: http://apbioextras2014.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/4/1/22410714/4495746.jpg

 Co-dominance is what
happens when both
dominant trait and recessive
trait appear resulting to an
offspring having the blended
features of the parents.

Image credit: http://apbioextras2014.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/4/1/22410714/4495746.jpg

 Importance of Genetics
• Reproduction
• Propagation of species
• Continuity of generations
• Through genetic engineering and
technology, improved breeds and hybrids
that may be taller and healthier, etc.
• Newborn screening is a genetic procedure
that screens infants for abnormalities and
diseases.
• DNA testing is not just for paternity issues
but also for forensic cases.
 Activity 1
Reflective Activity (Photo Essay Album):

Based on what you have learned about dominant/recessive

alleles and dominant/recessive traits, reflect upon and infer
about the possible combinations that you got from your
parents/ancestors. Also reflect on whether you are a
dominant trait (exact look alike of one parent), an
incomplete dominance (does not look like either parent), or
a co-dominance (combination traits of both parents).
Expound on your observations and include pictures of you
and your parental/ancestral look-alike/s and turn these into
a photo essay album.
 Activity 2
Research Paper Group Project:

Form groups of three members. Do a research

paper on real-life examples of situations (domestic
or international) that involved DNA testing and
other genetic issues.

Clues that you can use and expand are: identification of King Richard III
of England’s remains, and the Colombian Hollywood actress Sofia
Vergara’s two frozen embryo dispute with Nick Loeb and many more.
Why not watch Discovery Channel or National Geographic for other
ideas?