Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
! Austrian monk ! Studied the inheritance of traits in pea plants ! Developed the laws of inheritance ! Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century
Mendelian Genetics
Biology I Notes
Site of Gregor Mendels experimental garden in the Czech Republic
Mendels Pea Plant Experiments
! Can be grown in a small area ! Produce lots of offspring ! Produce pure plants when allowed to selfpollinate several generations ! Can be artificially cross-pollinated
Why peas, P i s u m sativum?
Reproduction in Flowering Plants
Pollen contains sperm Produced by the stamen Ovary contains eggs Found inside the flower Pollen carries sperm to the eggs for fertilization Self-fertilization can occur in the same flower Cross-fertilization can occur between flowers
Mendels Experiment
1. Mendel produced pure strains by allowing the plants to self-pollinate for several generations 2. Mendel hand-pollinated flowers using a paintbrush 3. He could snip the stamens to prevent self-pollination. 4. He traced traits through the several generations
Mendels Results
Particulate Inheritance
! Mendel stated that physical traits are inherited as particles Mendel did not know that the particles were actually genes that are found on chromosomes & made up of DNA
Genetic Terminology
! Trait - any characteristic that can be passed from parent to offspring ! Heredity - passing of traits from parent to offspring ! Genetics - study of heredity ! Alleles - two forms of a gene (dominant & recessive) ! Dominant - stronger of two genes expressed in the hybrid; represented by a capital letter (R) ! Recessive - gene that shows up less often in a cross; represented by a lowercase letter (r) ! Homozygous genotype - gene combination involving 2 dominant or 2 recessive genes (e.g. RR or rr); also called pure ! Heterozygous genotype - gene combination of one dominant & one recessive allele (e.g. Rr); also called hybrid
Genotype & Phenotype in Flowers
Genotype - gene combination for a trait (e.g. RR, Rr, rr) Phenotype - the physical feature resulting from genotype (e.g. red, yellow) Genotype of alleles:
R = red flower r = yellow flower All genes occur in pairs, so 2 alleles affect a characteristic Possible combinations are:
Types of Genetic Crosses ! Monohybrid cross
! cross involving a single trait ! e.g. flower color
! Dihybrid cross
! cross involving two traits ! e.g. flower color & plant height
Genotypes Phenotypes
RR RED
Rr
rr
RED YELLOW
Punnett Square
Monohybrid Crosses
! Used to help solve genetics problems
Mendel s Laws
Law of Dominance
In a cross of parents that are pure for contrasting traits, only one form of the trait will appear in the next generation. All the offspring will be heterozygous and express only the dominant trait. Yy = Yellow yy= Green
Law of Segregation
During the formation of gametes, the two alleles responsible for a trait separate from each other. Alleles for a trait are then "recombined" at fertilization, producing the genotype for the traits of the offspring.
Applying the Law of Segregation
Law of Independent Assortment
Alleles for different traits are distributed to gametes (& offspring) independently of one another*.
Law of Independent Assortment
What is a Dihybrid Cross? A breeding experiment that tracks the inheritance of two traits. Illustrates Mendels Law of Independent Assortment
Each pair of alleles segregates independently during gamete formation
Dihybrid Cross
Dihybrid Cross
A breeding experiment that tracks the inheritance of two traits.
Traits: Seed shape & Seed color Alleles: R round r wrinkled Y yellow y green
RrYy
RY Ry rY ry
x RrYy
RY Ry rY ry
All possible gamete combinations
Dihybrid Cross
RY RY Ry rY ry Ry rY ry RY RY RRYY Ry RRYy rY RrYY ry RrYy
Dihybrid Cross
Ry RRYy RRyy RrYy Rryy rY RrYY RrYy rrYY rrYy ry RrYy Rryy rrYy rryy Round/Yellow: Round/green: 9 3
wrinkled/Yellow: 3 wrinkled/green: 1
9:3:3:1 phenotypic ratio
Question: How many gametes will be produced for the following allele arrangements? Remember:
1. 2. 3. RrYy AaBbCCDd MmNnOoPPQQRrssTtQq 2n (n = # of heterozygotes)
Answer:
1. RrYy: 2n = 22 = 4 gametes
RY Ry rY ry
2. AaBbCCDd: 2n = 23 = 8 gametes ABCD ABCd aBCD aBCd AbCD abCD AbCd abCD
3. MmNnOoPPQQRrssTtQq: 2n = 26 = 64 gametes
Summary of Mendels laws
LAW DOMINANCE PARENT CROSS TT x tt tall x short Tt x Tt tall x tall RrGg x RrGg round & green x round & green OFFSPRING 100% Tt tall 75% tall 25% short
9/16 round seeds & green pods 3/16 round seeds & yellow pods 3/16 wrinkled seeds & green pods 1/16 wrinkled seeds & yellow pods
SEGREGATION
INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT