INHERITANCE

Inheritance is the transmission of genetic information from one generation to the

next leading to continuity of species and variation within it.
Genes are sections of the DNA that determine a particular feature by instructing
cells to produce particular proteins.
Cell → Nucleus → Chromosomes → DNA → Genes
A gene can also be described as a section of the DNA that code for a particular
protein. This could be a structural protein such as collagen found in skin cells, an
enzyme or a hormone. DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid
The entire genetic material of an organism is known as its genome.
The DNA has the ability to replicate itself in order for a new cell to receive each
copy during cell division.
Structure of the DNA
The structure of the DNA was discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in
1953.
It consists of two strands of DNA wound around each other in what is called a
double helix. Each is made up nucleotides.
Each nucleotide contains (i) Phosphate molecule.
(ii) Sugar molecule known as deoxyribose sugar
(iii) Nitrogenous base. (there are four nitrogenous bases
Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C) and Guanine (G)

The nitrogenous bases always pair in a precise way. They are complimentary to
each other eg Adenine pairs with thymine while cytosine pairs with Guanine. This
is known as complimentary base pairing rule.

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The two strands are held together by weak hydrogen bonds between the bases.
In each molecule of a DNA, the amount of Adenine and Thymine are equal are as
the amount of Cytosine and Guanine.

DNA Replication.
This is the process of making copies of the DNA during cell division. The DNA
replicates in a semi-conservative type i.e the half part is original and the other half
part is new.
Steps include;

1. Polynucleotide strands of DNA unwinds and separate.

2. Each strand acts as a template where new bases attach themselves to their
complimentary base on each strand. Each strand acts as a framework for
formation of new strand of DNA.
3. The DNA polymerase assemble the nucleotides into new strand according
to the base pairing rule.
4. Two identical DNA molecules are formed. Each contain a strand from the
parent DNA and a new complimentary strand.

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Genetic code
A sequence of 3 nucleotides on the DNA with 3 bases codes for a specific
amino acid in a protein.
Proteins are made of chains of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. A
sequence of three bases are needed to code for one amino acid. Therefore,
the DNA code is a triplet code. CGA codes for amino acid Alanine
TGT codes for amino acid Cysteine.

A group of three bases coding for an amino acid is called a codon and the
sequence of codons that code for all the amino acids in a protein molecule
is the gene.

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 Protein Synthesis.
The DNA stays in the nucleus but protein synthesis takes place in the
cytoplasm. This means that for proteins to be made, the genetic code must
be copied, and then transferred out of the nucleus into the ribosomes in
the cytoplasm. This is carried out by a nuclei acid called Ribonucleic acid.
(RNA)
Differences between DNA and RNA
DNA RNA
1. DNA is a double stranded RNA is Single stranded
2. DNA contains deoxyribose sugar RNA contains ribose sugar
3. DNA contains Thymine RNA contains Uracil in place of
Thymine
4. DNA found in the nucleus RNA found in the cytoplasm
5. DNA is larger RNA is small

Two types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis.

(i) Messenger RNA (mRNA)- forms a copy of the DNA code and carries it
to the site of protein synthesis(ribosomes) in the cytoplasm.
(ii) Transfer RNA (tRNA) – Carries amino acids to the ribosomes to make
proteins.
-The DNA strand having codes for manufacturing proteins is called a sense
strand while the other strand is called antisense strand.
-Each code has a unique combination of the three bases which make a single
amino acid in a polypeptide chain. One of these codes act as start codon signaling
the beginning of the sequence for amino acid chain. The start codon is AUG which

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codes for Methionine. There are three stop codons UAA, UAG or UGA these
indicate that the message is over.
-The genetic code is a universal code. The codons that code for individual amino
acids are the same in all organisms eg the base sequence TGT codes for Cysteine
in humans, bacteria, banana or any other organism.

To form a specific kind of protein, the information is obtained from the genetic
code on the DNA. In the process the following are required, m RNA, t RNA, RNA
polymerase (enzyme), ribosomes in the cytoplasm and free amino acids.
Protein synthesis takes place in two stages.
(i) Transcription.
(ii) Translation.

Transcription.
Transcription takes place in the nucleus. It is a process by which DNA is copied
into mRNA which carries the code needed to make the protein. The process is
catalyzed by the RNA polymerase.
Part of the double helix unwinds and unzips so that the two strands separate. The
RNA polymerase catalyzes the breakdown of hydrogen bonds between the
complementary strands of DNA. This exposes the bases along the template
strand.

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The template strand of the DNA forms a framework upon which a molecule of
mRNA is formed. The building blocks of the mRNA are RNA nucleotides. They line
up alongside the template strand according to the complimentary base-pairing
rule.

The RNA nucleotides link up to form an mRNA molecule. They form bonds
between their ribose sugar and phosphate groups .

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When a section of the DNA corresponding to a protein has been transcribed, the
mRNA molecule leaves the DNA and passes out of the nucleus through the
nuuclear pores in the nuclear membrane to the cytoplasm. The DNA cannot leave
because it is large and cannot pass through the pore of the nucleus.
The DNA strands/ helix then zips up again.

Translation
This is the process of converting the code in the mRNA into a protein. It takes
place in the ribosomes. By this stage the codon consists of sets of three bases in
the m RNA eg AUG, CCG, ACA. These are called codons. Each codon codes for a
particular amino acid.
For translation, the following are required. Ribosomes, mRNA, tRNA, amino acids
and enzyme.
In the cytoplasm mRNA molecule attaches itself to a ribosome. Now the tRNA
molecule begin their part. Each tRNA has an anticodon of three bases at one end
of the molecule, which is complimentary to a particular codon on the mRNA. EG if
the mRNA has a codon AUC, its complimentary anticodon on the tRNA will be
UAG. At the other end of tRNA molecule is a site where a specific amino acid can
attach.

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In other words, there is a particular tRNA molecule for each type of amino acid.
The tRNA molecule carries its amino acid to the ribosomes, where its specific
anticodon pairs up with the three bases (codon) of the corresponding mRNA.
Interaction between m RNA and tRNA happens as folows;
(i) The first tRNA binds to the mRNA at the start codon (AUG) which codes for
methionine.
(ii) Another tRNA brings along a second amino acid. The anticodon of second
tRNA binds to the next codon on the mRNA.
(iii) The enzyme involved in translation forms the peptide bond between
methionine and the second amino acid.
(iv) The first tRNA is released to collect another amino acid.
(v) More tRNA molecules arrive at the mRNA and add their amino acid to the
growing chain forming a protein.
(vi) By the end of the chain a stop codon tells the translation machinery that the
protein is complete and it is released. (UAA, UAG or UGA)

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 Monohybrid Inheritance. o It is the inheritance of a single
gene/characteristics. o All diploid cells have two copies of the same gene so
a single characteristic has two forms of the same gene in a diploid cell.
o In sexual reproduction, haploid gametes are formed following meiosis from
diploid cells, each gamete contains one of each pair of chromosomes.

Terms used in inheritance.

o Gene; A small section of the DNA that codes for proteins that determines a
particular feature in an individual.
o Genotype; This is the genetic makeup of an individual which is responsible for
a particular characteristic eg genes responsible for eye colour, height, hair
colour etc.
o Phenotype; This is the physical or outward expression of a gene. The outward
appearance of an individual due to his genotype eg blue eyes, tall,
o Allele; An alternative form of a gene. Most genes have more than one form.
Eg The gene for height we can have two alleles i.e tallness and shortness. Each
individual must have two alleles per feature. The gametes will only have one
of the alleles per feature. Alleles are always represented with letters.
o Homozygous; When an individual has two of the same allele eg TT or tt o
Heterozygous; When an individual has two different alleles eg Tt Alleles can
either be dominant or recessive.
o Dominant allele; This is an allele that always expresses itself in the
phenotype both in homozygous and heterozygous state. It is represented by a
capital letter.
o Recessive allele; This is an allele that is only expressed in the phenotype
when it is in homozygous state only. It must pair up with another recessive
allele for it to be expressed. It is represented by a small letter.
o For example, If the allele for being tall is recessive over the allele for being
short. Then for an individual to be tall he needs to have two copies of the
allele i.e tt while TT and Tt will be genotypes for short individual.
o There are 3 available genotypes; TT (Homozygous dominant) Tt
(Heterozygous) and tt

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 (Homozygous recessive) the first two have the same phenotype but different
genotypes.
o Punnett square. A Punnett square is an alternative method of making genetic
crosses.

Gregor Mendel:
o Mendel conducted breeding experiments on garden pea plants and
formulated the basic laws of inheritance.
o He used pea plants instead of humans because;
(i) They are self-pollinated and always produce many seeds which grow
into plants with the same characteristic. Eg pure tall plant produce only tall
plant.
(ii) They grow quickly. It takes many years for a human being to grow,
mature, and have children, making data collection slow.

Mendel established that- o A gene is

passed from one generation to the next.
o A gene can have alternative form (allele).
o Each individual must have two alleles per feature. o Sex cells only have one
allele per feature. o One allele can be dominant over the other which is said
to be recessive. o Mendel noticed that many features of pea plant had just
two alternate forms. Eg. Tall/dwarf plant, purple flower or white flower,
yellow seed or green seed. There were no intermediate forms like pale yellow
dark green.

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o When some organisms that differ in some way are bred together, their young
ones are called hybrids.
o Mendel produced hybrids by cross pollinating plants. When the parent
organism differs in only one way (such as length of their stems) the
experiment is called monohybrid inheritance or monohybrid cross.
o Mendel studied one experiment at a time. He began his experiment with pure
breed plants. These are plants with homozygous alleles. He initially used only
plants that had bred pure for several generations. Eg. Any tall plant he used
had come from generations of pea plants that had all been tall. For true
breeding he ensured self-pollination by covering the flowers or putting away
from agents of pollination such as wind.

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 Experiment 1.
o Mendel cross pollinated tall and dwarf plants. The off springs from first
generation were all tall. According to Mendel, the gene for tallness was
dominant and he called it dominant characteristic. The gene for dwarfness
was recessive. This was the Filial 1 (F1) generation. o Mendel self-pollinated
F1 plants to obtain F2 generation and he found that ¾ of F2 plants were tall
and ¼ were dwarf. The ratio was 3:1. Dwarfness reappeared in F2 and he
called it recessive characteristic.

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 diagram
1 for F should look like;

This is how the genetic

Since all offspring are tall, the allele for height (tallness) is dominant over dwarfness.

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Experiment 2: Mendel took F1 plants and crossed them.

This is how the genetic diagram for F2 should look like;

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Experiment 3; Cross between heterozygous tall pea plants and dwarf pea plants.
Heterozygous must be Tt and dwarf pea plants must be tt.

The offspring’s outcome can be represented as ratio and probability. Eg 3:1 ratio is
75% and 25% or ¾ and ¼ probability.

Test cross.
The genotypes TT and Tt both produce a tall phenotype. In order to establish the
genotype, a test cross is used. This is where unknown genotype of an organism
showing the dominant phenotype is crossed by an organism showing the recessive
feature.
For example, in this case the recessive genotype is tt, dwarf plant.
(i) If the tall plant is homozygous dominant, TT then the cross would result into
all offspring being tall.

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(ii) If the tall plant is Heterozygous, Tt then the cross would result into half the
offspring being tall and the other half being dwarf.

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Sex determination.
Sex of an individual is not determined by a particular gene but by one homologous pair of
chromosomes called sex chromosomes. The other 22 pairs are called autosomes.
Human body cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes (except red blood cells). 22 pairs are
called autosomes and the 23rd pair are called sex chromosomes.
In females, the 23rd pair of chromosomes are two X chromosomes while in males the 23 rd
chromosomes are X and Y chromosomes.

There is a 50% chance of a couple having a girl or a boy. The gender is determined by X or Y
chromosome in the sperm that will fertilize the egg.
Codominance.
In complete dominance, one allele completely hides the effect of another allele if both are
present in an individual.
In codominance, both alleles have an equal effect on the phenotype when they are both
present in the genotype or in a heterozygote. Both alleles contribute to the phenotype of a
heterozygote.
Eg. Snap dragon plant has Red, White and Pink flowers.
Allele for Red flower is R (can also be represented as CR) RR, CRCR

Allele for White flower is W (can also be represented as CW) WW

Note. In codominance alleles are given different letters since none is dominant over the
other.
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From the second generation; 25% Red, 50% Pink and 25% White. Which is ratio of
1RR:2RW:1WW Three laws of inheritance from Mendel

(i) Law of segregation – During gamete formation, the alleles for each gene segregate
from each other so that each gamete carries only one allele for each gene.

(ii) Law of independent assortment – Genes of different traits can segregate

independently during the formation of gametes.

(iii) Law of dominance – Some alleles are dominant while others are recessive, an
organism with both dominant and recessive allele displays the effect of the dominant
allele.

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Polygenic Inheritance.

This is when a trait is controlled by more than 2 genes working together eg human skin
colour. Darker skin contain greater amounts of a black pigment called melanin. This is
controlled by several genes which act together to determine the amount of melanin in the
skin. Each gene has alleles that promote melanin production and alleles which do not. This
produces a range of phenotypes. Other examples of human characteristics determined by
several genes (polygenes) include human height and body mass.

DO NOT DRAW THE DIAGRAM BELOW JUST STUDY IT.

ABO Blood groups inheritance.

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 • Blood group is an example of multiple allele where we have more than two types of
alleles of a gene.  The inheritance of human ABO blood groups also shows
codominance.
• The blood groups in humans is controlled by three (3) alleles. Allele A, B and O.
• However, allele O is always recessive and will only express itself in homozygous
condition while allele A and B are codominant.
• Combinations of these alleles can result in four different phenotypes i.e. A, B, AB
and O.
• The gene is represented by a symbol “I”.

Blood group (Phenotype) Genotype

A A
A I I or IAIO
B IB IB or IBIO
AB I A IB
O IO IO

The alleles are inherited in a similar way as Mendelian way. Example one

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Example two.
A man who is homozygous for blood group A marries a woman who is homozygous for
blood group B, work out the possible blood groups of their children.

Example three.
A woman with blood group A married a man with blood group B. They had one child with
blood group A, and another child with blood group O. Construct a genetic diagram to show
the results of this cross. Indicate the phenotypes of the children on your diagram.

Pedigree.
A pedigree is a diagram of family relationships that uses symbols to represent people and
lines to represent genetic relationships. These diagrams make it easier to visualize
relationship within families, particularly large extended families.
Pedigrees are often used to determine the mode of inheritance (dominant or recessive) of
a genetic disease. In a pedigree squares represent males and circles represent females.
Horizontal lines connecting a male and a female represent mating. Vertical lines extending
downwards from a couple represent their children.

Types of pedigree.

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Dominant pedigree
This is where a condition is caused by dominant allele. Affected individuals have at least one affected
parent. The phenotype generally appears in every generation. Two unaffected parents only
have unaffected off springs.

Recessive pedigree
This is where a condition is caused by a recessive allele. Unaffected parents can have affected off
springs. Affected off springs are both male and female. The trait can skip generations.

Example one.

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The diagram shows the inheritance of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) tasting in a family.
Although PTC has a very bitter taste, some people cannot taste it.
+

(a) What evidence in the diagram suggests that the allele for PTC tasting is dominant?
Skip 3 lines
(b) Using T to represent the tasting allele and t to represent the non-tasting allele, give the
genotypes of individuals 3 and 7. Explain how you arrived at your answers. Skip 5 lines
(c) Why can we not be sure of the genotype of individual 5? Skip 3 lines
(d) If individuals 3 and 4 had another child, what is the chance that the child would be able
to taste PTC?
Construct a genetic diagram to show how you arrived at your answer. Skip 5 lines

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Example two

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