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Extranuclear Inheritance Explained

The document discusses cytoplasmic or extranuclear inheritance, highlighting the role of extranuclear DNA in heredity, which differs from Mendelian inheritance. It provides evidence for cytoplasmic inheritance through examples such as maternal inheritance in snails and organelle-based inheritance in plants like Mirabilis jalapa. The document emphasizes that traits can be inherited from the maternal parent due to the contribution of cytoplasmic genetic material, particularly from mitochondria and chloroplasts.

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102 views5 pages

Extranuclear Inheritance Explained

The document discusses cytoplasmic or extranuclear inheritance, highlighting the role of extranuclear DNA in heredity, which differs from Mendelian inheritance. It provides evidence for cytoplasmic inheritance through examples such as maternal inheritance in snails and organelle-based inheritance in plants like Mirabilis jalapa. The document emphasizes that traits can be inherited from the maternal parent due to the contribution of cytoplasmic genetic material, particularly from mitochondria and chloroplasts.

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Preeti
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Made by: PREETI THAKUR

CYTOPLASMIC / EXTRA-NUCLEAR INHERITANCE


While nuclear genes play a major role in inheritance, cellular metabolism, and development,
they are not the only carriers of hereditary information. Experimental evidence shows that
extranuclear DNA—found in the cytoplasm of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells—also
contributes to inheritance. Examples include plasmids in bacteria like E. coli and DNA in
mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells. Additionally, endosymbionts such as
certain viruses, bacteria, and algae within eukaryotic cells may serve as hereditary elements.
These extranuclear genetic materials follow inheritance patterns distinct from Mendelian
inheritance, and are referred to as non-Mendelian, non-chromosomal, uniparental, maternal,
extra-chromosomal, cytoplasmic, or extranuclear inheritance.

1. Evidence for Cytoplasmic Inheritance


Traits with extra-nuclear (cytoplasmic) inheritance show patterns different from Mendelian
inheritance. The key signs include:
 Egg contributes almost all the cytoplasm to the zygote, sperm contributes mostly the
nucleus. This is clearly the basis for uniparental or maternal inheritance where the
progeny always resembles one parent, most commonly the female parent e.g., shell
coiling in Limnaea peregra (snail).
 Differences in reciprocal crosses which cannot be attributed to sex-linkage or some
other chromosomal basis tend to implicate extranuclear factors (e.g., chloroplast
inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa).
 Sometimes only one parent’s traits are inherited, even when both gametes contribute
equally. Streptomycin resistance in Chlamydomonas.
 Deviations from expected Mendelian ratios hint at cytoplasmic inheritance.
Mitochondrial inheritance in yeast.
 When the trait fails to show linkage to any known nuclear linkage groups and assort
independently from nuclear genes, a cytoplasmic mode of inheritance is suggested.
The cytoplasmic inheritance, therefore, will be understood to be based on cytoplasmically
located, independent, self-replicating nucleic acids, which differ from chromosomal genes by
their location within the cell, and have their own nucleotide sequences. The smallest heritable
extra chromosomal unit is called a plasmagene. All of the plasmagenes of a cell constitute
the plasmon.

2. Maternal Inheritance
 In certain cases, it has been observed that certain characteristic phenotypic traits of F1
, F2 or F3 progeny are not the expression of their own genes, but rather those of the
maternal parents. Offsprings show traits based on the mother’s genotype, not their
own.

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 Reason: Mother’s mRNA, tRNA, rRNA (made during oogenesis) affect early
development before zygotic transcription starts.
Example a: Shell Coiling in Snails (Limnaea peregra)
 Shells can coil clockwise (dextral) or counterclockwise (sinistral).
 Coiling direction is determined by mother’s genotype, not the offspring’s.
 Gene for sinistrality (S) is recessive, dextrality (S⁺) is dominant. The eggs of a
homozygous sinistral individual (SS) are fertilized by the sperm of a dextral
individual (S+S+), the eggs cleave sinistrally and all the snails of this F1 generation
show a sinistral coiling of the shell. Thus, the gene of sperm (S+) do not manifest
themselves, although the genotype of the F1 generation is S+S.
 Key Point: Coiling depends on orientation of the mitotic spindle, which is set by
ooplasm (maternal cytoplasm).

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3. Organelle-Based Inheritance (Mitochondria & Chloroplasts)


 Mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own DNA and replicate independently.
 The genetic materials of chloroplasts and mitochondria will be transmitted to
offspring almost exclusively via the egg. Maternal inheritance due to chloroplast and
mitochondria is well illustrated by the following example

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 Origin believed to be endosymbiotic prokaryotes. This has been supported by the


fact that the genetic components of these organelle are often similar to those found in
prokaryotes. Such as
 Circular DNA like bacteria.
 70S ribosomes.
 Starts protein synthesis with N-formyl methionine.
 RNA polymerase sensitive to rifampicin.

Examples of Organelle-Based Cytoplasmic Inheritance


a. Chloroplast Inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa (Four o’clock plant) described by C.
Correns in 1908
 Mirabilis contains three types of leaves and parts :
(1) Full green leaves or branches having chloroplast,
(2) White (pale) leaves and branches having no chloroplast,
(3) Variegated branches having leukoplast in white (pale) areas and chloroplast in
green patches
 Green branches → Green offspring.
 White branches → White offspring (die due to no chlorophyll).
 Variegated branches → Mix of green, white, and variegated offspring. White or pale
parts of plant survive by receiving nourishment from green parts.
 Correns reported that flowers on green branches produced only green offsprings,
regardless of the genotype and phenotype of pollen parent and likewise, flowers from
the white or pale branches produced only white or pale seedings regardless of
genotype and phenotype of pollen parent. The plants developing from the white or
pale seedings die because they lack chlorophyll and cannot carry on photosynthesis.
 Reason: Plastids are passed via egg, not pollen. Pollen has little/no plastids.
 Mitotic Segregation explains variegated traits: cells inherit different plastid types
during mitosis. Variegated branches of Mirabilis jalapa produce three kinds of eggs :
some contain only white chloroplasts, some contain only green chloroplasts and some
contain both types of chloroplasts. In the subsequent mitotic divisions, some form of
cytoplasmic segregation occurs that segregate the chloroplast types into pure cell
lines, thus, producing the variegated phenotype in the progeny individual. This
process of sorting might be described as “mitotic segregation” of this is a pure extra-
nuclear phenomenon. In mitotic segregation since both segregation and recombination

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of organelle genotype takes place, so it is called cytoplasmic segregation and


recombination (its acronym is CSAR).

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Common questions

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Traits like shell coiling in Limnaea peregra are maternally inherited due to the influence of maternal cytoplasmic elements such as mRNA and proteins during early development. The mitotic spindle orientation, crucial for coiling direction, is determined by the ooplasm, ensuring that the offspring's coiling matches the maternal genotype. This cytoplasmic control overrides the offspring's genotype, resulting in consistent maternal inheritance of the trait, reflecting non-nuclear chromosomal influence .

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) inheritance differs from nuclear DNA as it follows a non-Mendelian pattern, being maternally inherited through the egg. Unlike nuclear DNA, which is inherited from both parents in a Mendelian fashion, mtDNA is inherited solely from the mother, as sperm contributes little cytoplasmic content. An example is mitochondrial inheritance in yeast, where mtDNA is passed from the mother to offspring, indicating its independent replication and function apart from nuclear genes .

Plastid inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa illustrates cytoplasmic inheritance by showing that offspring's leaf color depends on the type of plastid inherited from the egg rather than the genotype of the pollen parent. This is evident in green, white, and variegated branches, where eggs contain distinct plastid types. Variegated offspring arise through mitotic segregation, an extra-nuclear phenomenon where cells inherit different plastid types during mitotic division, exemplifying non-Mendelian, cytoplasmic inheritance .

The endosymbiotic theory is significant in understanding organelle-based inheritance as it posits that mitochondria and chloroplasts originated from prokaryotic organisms engulfed by ancestral eukaryotic cells. This theory explains why these organelles have their own circular DNA, 70S ribosomes, and other features similar to bacteria, supporting their independent replication and maternal transmission through egg cytoplasm. Understanding this origin provides insight into non-Mendelian inheritance patterns observed in eukaryotic cells .

Plasmagenes and plasmon are central to extranuclear inheritance, representing self-replicating nucleic acids located in the cytoplasm, different from chromosomal genes. Plasmagenes are the smallest heritable extrachromosomal units, and the collective plasmagenes within a cell constitute the plasmon. These elements demonstrate non-chromosomal inheritance by influencing traits independently of nuclear genes, highlighting unique ancestry and replication mechanisms within the cellular environment .

Evidence supporting cytoplasmic inheritance includes traits showing patterns different from Mendelian inheritance, such as cases where egg cytoplasm contributes almost all of the cytoplasm to the zygote, leading to uniparental or maternal inheritance. An example is shell coiling in Limnaea peregra where offspring's traits mirror the maternal genotype. Differences in reciprocal crosses not explained by chromosomal inheritance, deviations from expected Mendelian ratios, and traits not linked to nuclear genes suggest cytoplasmic inheritance, involving extranuclear DNA or plasmagenes located in the cytoplasm .

Streptomycin resistance in Chlamydomonas exemplifies non-Mendelian inheritance as the trait is inherited through the cytoplasm, not linked to chromosomal genes. In this case, resistance traits involve extranuclear factors that do not follow traditional Mendelian ratios and depend on cytoplasmic inheritance patterns. This showcases how external factors, possibly residing in organellar genomes, can contribute to inheritable traits independent of nuclear DNA .

Mitotic segregation in Mirabilis jalapa explains the variegation in plants by causing different types of chloroplasts to segregate into separate cell lines during cell division. This results in parts of the plant having green, white, or variegated coloring, where variegated offspring inherit mixed plastid types through cytoplasmic segregation and recombination. Such inheritance is purely cytoplasmic and non-Mendelian, demonstrating how genetic material from organelles like chloroplasts can influence phenotype differently from nuclear genes .

Maternal inheritance influences offspring phenotypes through cytoplasmic factors like mother's mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA, which affect development before zygotic transcription begins. A key example is shell coiling in snails (Limnaea peregra), where coiling direction is determined by the mother's genotype. The maternal cytoplasm sets mitotic spindle orientation, ensuring that sinistral or dextral coiling aligns with maternal genotypic influence rather than offspring's own genotype .

Organelle-based inheritance refers to the transmission of genetic material from organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, which have their own DNA and replicate independently. This type of inheritance is mostly maternal as these organelles are transmitted via the egg. An example is chloroplast inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa, where the leaf color of offspring depends on the type of chloroplast inherited from the mother, not the father, since pollen generally lacks substantial plastids .

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