BOTANY LN 3 CHROMOSOMAL BASIS OF INHERITANCE

1. In eukaryotic cells, worm-shaped structures formed during cell division are called
chromosomes (colored bodies, visualized by staining).
2. An organism which possesses two complete basic sets of chromosomes are
known as diploid.
3. Each gene has a definite position (locus) on a chromosome.
4. State the chromosomal theory of inheritance.
Chromosomal theory of inheritance states that Mendelian factors (genes) have
specific locus (position) on chromosomes and they carry information from one
generation to the next generation.
5. Wilhelm Roux (1883) postulated that the chromosomes of a cell are responsible
for transferring heredity.
6. Montgomery (1901) was first to suggest occurrence of distinct pairs of
chromosomes.
7. Sutton and Boveri (1903) independently proposed the chromosome theory of
inheritance.
8. Salient features of the Chromosomal theory of inheritance
 Somatic cells of organisms are derived from the zygote by repeated cell
division (mitosis). These consist of two identical sets of chromosomes. One
set is received from female parent (maternal) and the other from male
parent (paternal). These two chromosomes constitute the homologous pair.
 Chromosomes retain their structural uniqueness and individuality
throughout the life cycle of an organism.
 Each chromosome carries specific determiners or Mendelian factors which
are now termed as genes.
 The behaviour of chromosomes during the gamete formation (meiosis)
provides evidence to the fact that genes or factors are located on
chromosomes.
9. Differentiate between Mendelian factors and chromosomes behaviour.
[Link] Mendelian factors Chromosomes behaviour
.
1. Alleles of a factor occur in pair Chromosomes occur in pairs
2. Similar or dissimilar alleles of a The homologous chromosomes separate
factor separate during the during meiosis.
gamete formation.
3. Mendelian factors can assort The paired chromosomes can separate
independently independently during meiosis but the linked
genes in the same chromosome normally do
 not assort independently.

10. State Mendel’s law of Independent Assortment.

The genes which determine the character of an individual are carried by the
chromosomes. The genes for different characters may be present either in the
same chromosome or in different chromosomes. When the genes are present in
different chromosomes, they assort independently according to Mendel’s Law of
Independent Assortment.
11. Explain Linkage with an example.
William Bateson and Reginald C. Punnet in 1906 studied the process of linkage
in sweet pea. They crossed one homozygous strain of sweet peas having purple
flowers and long pollen grains with another homozygous strain having red
flowers and round pollen grains. All the F1 progenies had purple flower and long
pollen grains indicating purple flower long pollen (PL/PL) was dominant over red
flower round pollen (pl/pl).
When they crossed the F1 with double recessive parent (test cross) in results, F2
progenies did not exhibit in 1:1:1:1 ratio as expected with independent
assortment. A greater number of F2 plants had purple flowers and long pollen or
red flowers and round pollen. So, they concluded that genes for purple colour
and long pollen grain and the genes for red colour and round pollen grain were
found close together in the same homologous pair of chromosomes. These genes
do not allow themselves to be separated. So they do not assort independently.
This type of tendency of genes to stay together during separation of
chromosomes is called Linkage.
12. Differentiate between linked and unlinked genes.

Linked genes Unlinked genes

Genes located close together on The two genes that are sufficiently
the same chromosome and far apart on the same chromosome
inherited together are called are called unlinked genes or
linked genes. syntenic genes
when the recombination If the recombination frequency
frequency value is less than 50 value is more than 50 % the two
%, they show linked. genes show unlinked.

13. Define synteny.

 When two genes are sufficiently far apart on the same chromosome, they are
called unlinked genes or syntenic genes. Such condition is known as synteny.

14. Differentiate between cis and trans configuration.

Cis configuration Trans configuration

When two dominant alleles or If dominant or recessive alleles are
recessive alleles occur in the same present on two different, but
homologous chromosomes, they tend homologous chromosomes they
to inherit together into same gamete. inherit apart into different gametes.
This is called coupling or cis This is called repulsion or trans
configuration configuration.

15. Define complete linkage with an example.

If the chances of separation of two linked genes are not possible those genes
always remain together as a result, only parental combinations are observed. The
linked genes are located very close together on the same chromosome such
genes do not exhibit crossing over. This phenomenon is called complete linkage.
It is rare but has been reported in male Drosophila.

16. Define incomplete linkage with an example.

If two linked genes are sufficiently apart, the chances of their separation are
possible. As a result, parental and non-parental combinations are observed. The
linked genes exhibit some crossing over. This phenomenon is called incomplete
linkage. This was observed in maize. It was reported by Hutchinson.

17. Enumerate the differences between linkage and crossing-over.

[Link] Linkage Crossing over

1. The genes present on It leads to separation of linked
chromosome stay close together. genes
2. It involves same chromosome of It involves exchange of segments
homologous chromosome. between non-sister chromatids of
homologous chromosome.
3. It reduces new gene It increases variability by forming
combinations. new gene combinations. lead to
 formation of new organism

18. What is crossing-over? Mention its significance.

Crossing over is a biological process that produces new combination of
genes by inter-changing the corresponding segments between non-sister chromatids
of homologous pair of chromosomes.
Importance of Crossing Over
Crossing over occurs in all organisms like bacteria, yeast, fungi, higher plants and
animals. Its importance is
􀀠 Exchange of segments leads to new gene combinations which plays an important
role in evolution.
􀀠 Studies of crossing over reveal that genes are arranged linearly on the chromosomes.
􀀠 Genetic maps are made based on the frequency of crossing over.
􀀠 Crossing over helps to understand the nature and mechanism of gene action.
􀀠 If a useful new combination is formed it can be used in plant breeding.
19. The term 'crossing over' was coined by Morgan (1912).
20. Crossing -over takes place during pachytene stage of prophase I of meiosis.
21. Usually crossing over occurs in germinal cells during gametogenesis. It is
called meiotic or germinal crossing over.
22. Rarely, crossing over occurs in somatic cells during mitosis. It is called
somatic or mitotic crossing over.
23. Explain the mechanism of Crossing Over
Crossing over is a precise process that includes stages like synapsis, tetrad formation,
cross over and terminalization.
(i) Synapsis
Intimate pairing between two homologous chromosomes is initiated during zygotene
stage of prophase I of meiosis I. Homologous chromosomes are aligned side by side
resulting in a pair of homologous chromosomes called bivalents. This pairing
phenomenon is called synapsis or syndesis. It is of three types,
1. Procentric synapsis: Pairing starts from middle of the chromosome.
2. Proterminal synapsis: Pairing starts from the telomeres.
3. Random synapsis: Pairing may start from anywhere.
(ii) Tetrad Formation
Each homologous chromosome of a bivalent begins to form two identical sister
chromatids, which remain held together by a centromere. At this stage each bivalent
has four chromatids. This stage is called tetrad stage.
(iii) Cross Over
After tetrad formation, crossing over occurs in pachytene stage. The non-sister
chromatids of homologous pair make a contact at one or more points. These points of
contact between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes are called
Chiasmata (singular-Chiasma). At chiasma, cross-shaped or X-shaped structures are
formed, where breaking and rejoining of two chromatids occur. This results in
reciprocal exchange of equal and corresponding segments between them.
(iv) Terminalisation
After crossing over, chiasma starts to move towards the terminal end of chromatids.
This is known as terminalisation. As a result, complete separation of homologous
chromosomes occurs.
24. What is recombination?
Crossing over results in the formation of new combination of characters in an
organism called recombinants. In this, segments of DNA are broken and
recombined to produce new combinations of alleles. This process is called
Recombination.

25. How is Recombination Frequency (RF) calculated?

The percentage of recombinant progeny in a cross is called recombination frequency.
The recombination frequency (cross over frequency) (RF) is calculated by using the
following formula.
RF = Total No. of recombinations x 100
Total [Link] offspring
 26. Genes are present in a linear order along the
chromosome. They are present in a specific location called
locus
27. The diagrammatic representation of position of genes and
related distances between the adjacent genes is called genetic
mapping. It is directly proportional to the frequency of
recombination between them. It is also called as linkage map.
28. The concept of gene mapping was first developed by
Morgan’s student Alfred H Sturtevant in 1913.
29. The unit of distance in a genetic map is called a map unit
(m.u).
30. One map unit is also called a centimorgan (cM) in honour
of T.H. Morgan.
31. Write a note on the uses of genetic mapping
a. Genetic mapping is used to determine gene order, identify
the locus of a gene and calculate the distances between
genes.
b. They are useful in predicting results of dihybrid and trihybrid
crosses.
c. It allows the geneticists to understand the overall genetic
complexity of particular organism.
32. What are multiple alleles?
When any of the three or more allelic forms of a gene occupy the
same locus in a given pair of homologous chromosomes, they are
said to be called multiple alleles
33. How is Sex determined in maize?
Zea mays (maize) is an example for monoecious, which means male
and female flowers are present on the same plant.
There are two types of inflorescences. The terminal inflorescence
which bears staminate florets develops from shoot apical meristem
called tassel. The lateral inflorescence which develops pistillate
florets from axillary bud is called ear or cob. Unisexuality in maize
occurs through the selective abortion of stamens in ear florets and
pistils in tassel florets. A substitution of two single gene pairs 'ba' for
barren plant and 'ts' for tassel seed makes the difference between
monoecious and dioecious (rare) maize plants. The allele for barren
plant (ba) when homozygous makes the stalk staminate by
eliminating silk and ears. The allele for tassel seed (ts) transforms
tassel into a pistillate structure that produce no pollen. The table-3.6
is the resultant sex expression based on the combination of these
alleles. Most of these mutations are shown to be defects in
gibberellin biosynthesis. Gibberellins play an important role in the
suppression of stamens in florets on the ears.
Genotype Dominant/ Modification Sex
recessive
ba/ba ts/ts Double Lacks silk on Rudimentary
recessive the stalk, but female
transformed
tassel to pistil
ba/ba ts+/ts+ Recessive and Lacks silk and Male
dominant have tassel
ba+/ba+ Double Have both Monoecious
ts+/ts+ dominant tassel and cob
ba+/ba+ ts/ts Dominant and Bears cob and Normal female
recessive lacks tassel

34. A sudden change in the genetic material of an organisms

is called mutation.
35. The term mutation was introduced by Hugo de Vries
(1901) while he has studying on the plant, evening primrose
(Oenothera lamarkiana) and proposed ‘Mutation theory’.
36. Mention the two broad types of mutations
There are two broad types of changes in genetic material. They are
point mutation and chromosomal mutations.
Mutational events that take place within individual genes are called
gene mutations or point mutation, whereas the changes occur in
structure and number of chromosomes is called chromosomal
mutation.
37. Agents which are responsible for mutation are called
mutagens.
38. Mutations can occur either spontaneously or induced.
39. The production of mutants through exposure of mutagens
is called mutagenesis, and the organism is said to be
mutagenized.
40. Mention the different types of mutation.
1. Spontaneous mutation - Occurs in the absence of known
mutagen.
2. Induced mutation - Occurs in the presence of known mutagen
3. Somatic mutation - Occurs in non-reproductive cells
4. Germ-line - Occurs in reproductive cells
41. Write a note on different type of point mutations
Point mutation
It refers to alterations of single base pairs of DNA or of a small
number of adjacent base pairs.

Types of Changes
Mutation
Transition A base pair in DNA duplex is
replaced with a different base
pair
Base – pair Purine to purine(A G)or
substitution pyrimidine to pyrimidine(T C)
Transversion Purine to pyrimidine(A T) or
 pyrimidine to purine(C G)
Base- pair Insertion One or more extra nucleotides
Addition/ are present
Deletion Deletion One or more nucleotides are
missing

42. What are indel mutations?

Addition or deletion mutations are actually additions or deletions of
nucleotide pairs and also called base pair addition or deletions.
Collectively, they are termed indel mutations (for insertion-deletion).
43. The mutation that changes one codon for an amino acid
into another codon for that same amino acid are called
Synonymous or silent mutations.
44. The mutation where the codon for one amino acid is
changed into a codon for another amino acid is called Missense
or non-synonymous mutations.
45. The mutations where codon for one amino acid is
changed into a termination or stop codon is called Nonsense
mutation.
46. Mutations that result in the addition or deletion of a
single base pair of DNA that changes the reading frame for the
translation process as a result of which there is complete loss of
normal protein structure and function are called Frameshift
mutations (Figure: 3.9).
47. The factors which cause genetic mutation are called
mutagenic agents or mutagens. Mutagens are of two types,
physical mutagen and chemical mutagen.

48. Sharbati Sonora is a mutant variety of wheat, which is

developed from Mexican variety (Sonora 64) by irradiating of
gamma rays.
49. Dr. [Link] who is known as ‘Father of Indian
green revolution’ and his team.
50. Castor Aruna is mutant variety of castor which is
developed by treatment of seeds with thermal neutrons in
order to induce very early maturity (120 days instead of 270
days as original variety).

51. Mustard gas (Dichloro ethyl sulphide) used as chemical

weapon in world war I.
52. H J Muller (1928) first time used X rays to induce
mutations in fruit fly.
53. L J Stadler reported induced mutations in plants by using X
rays and gamma rays.
54. Chemical mutagenesis was first reported by C. Auerback
(1944).
55. Write a note on chemical mutagens.
Chemicals which induce mutation are called chemical
mutagens. Some chemical mutagens are mustard gas, nitrous
acid, ethyl and methyl methane sulphonate (EMS and MMS),
ethyl urethane, magnous salt, formaldehyde, eosin and
enthrosine. Example: Nitrous oxide alters the nitrogen bases of
DNA and disturb the replication and transcription that leads to
the formation of incomplete and defective polypeptide during
translation.
56. What are comutagens?
The compounds which are not having own mutagenic
properties but can enhance the effects of known mutagens are
called comutagens. Example: Ascorbic acid increase the damage
caused by hydrogen peroxide.
57. Caffeine increase the toxicity of methotrexate.
58. What are chromosomal aberrations?
The genome can also be modified on a larger scale by altering the
chromosome structure or by changing the number of chromosomes
in a cell. These large-scale variations are termed as chromosomal
mutations or chromosomal aberrations.. Chromosomal mutations
are divided into two groups: changes in chromosome number and
changes in chromosome structure.
59. What is ploidy? Explain the types pf ploidy.
Sometimes the chromosome number of somatic cells are changed
due to addition or elimination of individual chromosome or basic set
of chromosomes. This condition in known as numerical
chromosomal aberration or ploidy. There are two types of ploidy.
[Link] involving individual chromosomes within a diploid set
(Aneuploidy)
b. Ploidy involving entire sets of chromosomes (Euploidy) .
(i) Aneuploidy
It is a condition in which diploid number is altered either by addition
or deletion of one or more chromosomes. Organisms showing
aneuploidy are known as aneuploids or heteroploids. They are of
two types, Hyperploidy and Hypoploidy.
1. Hyperploidy
Addition of one or more chromosomes to diploid sets are called
hyperploidy. Diploid set of chromosomes represented as Disomy.
Hyperploidy can be divided into three types. They are as follows:
(a) Trisomy
Addition of single chromosome to diploid set is called Simple
trisomy(2n+1).
(b) Tetrasomy
Addition of a pair or two individual pairs of chromosomes to diploid
set is called tetrasomy (2n+2) and Double tetrasomy (2n+2+2)
respectively. All possible tetrasomics are available in Wheat.
(c) Pentasomy
Addition of three individual chromosome from different
chromosomal pairs to normal diploid set are called pentasomy
(2n+3).
2. Hypoploidy
Loss of one or more chromosome from the diploid set in the cell is
called hypoploidy. It can be divided into two types. They are
(a) Monosomy
Loss of a single chromosome from the diploid set are called
monosomy(2n-1).
(b) Nullisomy
Loss of a pair of homologous chromosomes or two pairs of
homologous chromosomes from the diploid set are called Nullisomy
(2n-2) and double Nullisomy (2n-2-2) respectively.
(ii) Euploidy
Euploidy is a condition where the organisms possess one or more
basic sets of chromosomes. Euploidy is classified as monoploidy,
diploidy and polyploidy.
Polyploidy
Polyploidy is the condition where an organism possesses more than
two basic sets of chromosomes. When there are three, four, five or
six basic sets of chromosomes, they are called triploidy (3x)
tetraploidy (4x), pentaploidy (5x) and hexaploidy (6x) respectively.
Generally, polyploidy is very common in plants but rarer in animals.
An increase in the number of chromosome sets has been an
important factor in the origin of new plant species. But higher ploidy
level leads to death. Polyploidy is of two types. They are
autopolyploidy and allopolyploidy
1. Autopolyploidy
The organism which possesses more than two haploid sets of
chromosomes derived from within the same species is called
autopolyploid.
2. Allopolyploidy
An organism which possesses two or more basic sets of
chromosomes derived from two different species is called
allopolyploidy.
60. Triticale is the successful first man made cereal.
61. Hexaploidy Triticale hybrid plants demonstrate characteristics of
both macaroni wheat and rye.
62. Trisomics were first reported by Blackeslee (1910) in Datura
stramonium (Jimson weed).
63. Autotetraploids have four copies of its own genome. They may
be induced by doubling the chromosomes of a diploid species.
Example: rye, grapes, alfalfa, groundnut, potato and coffee.
64. Colchicine , an alkaloid is extracted from root and corms of
Colchicum autumnale, when applied in low concentration to the
growing tips of the plants it will induce polyploidy.

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