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GENETICS AND NATURAL SELECTION Form 2 B and R
Genetics is the study of how characteristics are passed on from
parents to offsprings. The characteristics such as skin colour,
pigmentations, hair colour, sex, are carried on genes which are
sections of chromosomes. Each chromosome contains several genes
that contain the information to create specific proteins.
Chromosomes are threadlike structures which are found in the
nucleus.
For each characteristic, you have two genes, one is inherited from
the father and one from the mother. These two genes may be the
same or different. Different forms of the same gene are called alleles
e.g. TT, Tt or tt.
Dominant alleles - some alleles will always produce a characteristic in
an organism. They are called dominant alleles e.g. TT
Recessive allele- these are alleles that do not produce a characteristic
in an organism e.g. tt
Genotype – this is the genetic makeup of an organism e.g. TT, Tt, tt
Phenotype – this is the visible observable characteristic of an
organism e.g. Tall, short, brown, white, round.
Mutation- a sudden change in the structure of a gene or
chromosome. This is caused by chemicals and radiation.
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The Punnett square
In a genetic cross to determine the offsprings, the dominant alleles
are represented by capital letters e.g. TT and the recessive alleles are
represented by lower case letters e.g. tt.
Scientist use a Punnett square to show what happens to the alleles
during a genetic cross
Question Find the genotypes and phenotypes from a cross of a
mother(bb) with blue eyes and a father with brown eyes (BB)
Answer
B B
Question Consider a cross between pure breeding tall pea plants (TT)
and short pure breeding pea plants (tt)
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Sex is determined by an entire chromosome pair (as opposed to
most other characteristics that are just determined by one or a
number of genes)
- Females have the sex chromosomes XX
- Males have the sex chromosomes XY
Genetically inherited disorders
- are conditions passed from parents to their offspring in their genes.
They include cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, down syndrome,
polydactyly
cystic fibrosis – suffers produce a lot of thick sticky mucus. This block
air passages making it difficult to breathe and can lead to chest
infections. Physiotherapy and antibiotics help to manage the
conditions. Cystic fibrosis is caused aby a recessive allele.
Polydactyly- is a disorder which results in a child being born with
extra digits on their hands or feet, such as extra fingers or toes.
Polydactyly is caused by a dominant allele.
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Selective breeding - Most farmers choose the animals or plants they
raise for their characteristics. For example, a famer may select dairy
cattle that produce lots of milk or a strawberry plant that produces
lots of large berries. When producing offsprings a farmer will choose
their best plants or animals to breed. This is called selective
breeding. the offsprings produced are likely to share their parents ‘s
desirable characteristics
How does a farmer selectively breed animals?
1 decide which characteristic of a species is important
2 select parents that show high levels of that characteristic
3 Breed the individuals
4 select the best offspring and breed again
5 Repeat for many generations
Disadvantages of selective breeding
1 it reduces the gene poll and therefore reduces variation.
2 useful genes which may be required in future are lost
3 if a new disease comes and the organisms are unable to resist the
disease the organisms may be wiped out and become extinct.
GENETIC ENGINEERING
When farmers selectively breed plants and animals, they are
choosing organisms genes. This is a slow process that takes place
over many generations. Scientists are now able to alter an
organism’s genes to produce an organism with the desired
characteristics. e.g. crops can be produced that are resistant to
diseases. Genetic engineering is changing the genetic material of an
organism by removing, changing or inserting individual genes from
another organism
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The organism receiving the genetic material is said to be ‘genetically
modified’, or is described as a ‘transgenic organism’
Examples of genetic engineering
Many organisms have been genetically engineered
i) cotton – to produce higher yields
ii) corn/maize- to produce toxins that kill insects
iii) bacteria – to produce medicinal drugs
iv) tomatoes- frost resistant
v) genetically modified crops e.g. maize, which is more resistant to
pest and grows faster.
vi) human growth hormone
v) Insulin Production, from organism modified: Bacteria (e.g. E. coli)
from Human insulin gene, produces insulin for treating diabetes
Variation
Variation is defined as differences between individuals of the same
species.
Phenotypic variation is the difference in features between
individuals of the same species.
Some of these differences are caused by differences in genes, which
is genetic variation.
a) Continuous Variation -is when there are very many small degrees
of difference for a particular characteristic between individuals and
they are arranged in order and can usually be measured on a scale.
e.g. include height, mass, weight, arm span finger length etc. where
there can be many ‘in-between’ groups.
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b) Discontinuous Variation is when there are distinct differences for
a characteristic. For example, people are either blood group A, B, AB
or O; left or right handedness, (sex) are either male or female; can
either roll their tongue or not, eye colour - there are no ‘in-
betweens’
1-Natural selection
Natural selection is where organisms with favourable alleles and
advantageous characteristics have a higher probability of surviving
and reproducing. This is due to competition within a population for
resources and mates. As there is variation in the alleles of each
species, each organism within a species has different traits, some
positive and some negative. Those with more positive traits can
adapt to the environment more effectively and are thus is more likely
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to survive and produce many offspring, which inherit these alleles.
Over time, negative characteristics are lost from the species as
organisms with those characteristics are not able reproduce to pass
on their alleles. This is known as evolution. Evolution allows a
population to become more adapted to its environment over time,
as a result of natural selection.
2-Artificial selection is a method used by humans to produce
varieties of animals and plants which have an increased economic
importance. People use selective breeding to produce new varieties
of a species, so that certain desirable traits are represented in
successive generations.
Antibiotic resistance
Some bacterial strains become resistant to antibiotics as a result of
natural selection:
Selective breeding -
Selective breeding is where humans select animals or plants with
desirable features and breed these together to make more offspring
with these desirable features. This process is repeated over many
generations. As this breeding is controlled by humans, it is known as
artificial selection.