GENETICS
Basic concepts
TABLE OF CONTENT:
[Link] is genetics?
[Link] are genes located?
[Link] are genes?
[Link] are alleles?
[Link] are traits being passed from
parents to offspring
WHAT IS GENETICS?
In the last century, the reason
why some people inherit certain
traits while others do not, has
been subject of much research.
Genetics is the study of genes
and inheritance in living
organism
WHO IS THE FATHER OF
GENETICS?
Gregor Mendel is known as the
“Father of Modern Genetics.”
He was an Austrian monk who
loved studying plants. Mendel
wanted to understand why
some traits appear in one
generation but disappear in the
next, so he used pea plants to
investigate.
WHO IS THE FATHER OF
GENETICS?
Why Pea Plants?
Pea plants were perfect
because they have clear traits
such as:
Tall or short plants
Green or yellow peas
Round or wrinkled peas
WHY PEA PLANTS?
WHAT HE DISCOVERED
From his experiments, Mendel discovered:
[Link] and recessive traits
Dominant traits show up even if there
is only one copy.
Recessive traits hide when a dominant
trait is present.
[Link] are passed down through “factors”
These “factors” are what we now call
genes.
[Link] inheritance patterns
He created ratios like 3:1 (three tall
plants for every one short plant).
WHY MENDEL IS
IMPORTANT
His work helped scientists
understand:
How children inherit traits
from their parents
How genes work
How variation happens in
living things
WHERE ARE THE GENES?
This information is located inside each cell.
NUCLEUS CHROMOSOMES DNA NITROGEN
BASES
NUCLEUS
Under the microscope, the
most evident part of the cell is
the nucleus. It is also the most
crucial part of it.
It is located in the center of
the cell, surrounded by a
membrane which keeps all
the chromosomes inside.
CHROMOSOMES
Inside each cell, there
are 23
pairs of chromosomes.
They are structures that
are difficult to see under
the microscope; however,
they become more
evident when the cell is
divided.
DNA
In chemical terms, DNA is a
polymer of nucleotides. In
other words, a
polynucleotide.
A polymer is a
compound formed by
many simple units
connected to each
other.
NITROGEN
BASES
The human genome
has only 4 letters:
Purine bases:
Adenine A and Guanine G
Pyrimidine bases:
Thymine T and Cytosine C
WHAT ARE GENES?
In humans, genes vary in size
from a few hundred DNA bases to
over 2 million bases.
Genes are composed of segments
of DNA, the molecule that encodes
genetic information in cells.
Some act as instructions to produce
A gene is the fundamental physical molecules called proteins, and many
and functional unit of heredity. of them do not apparently encode.
WHAT ARE ALLELES?
An allele is each of the two or more versions of a gene.
An individual inherits two alleles Alleles are located at the
for each gene; one from the father same position within
and the other from the mother. homologous chromosomes.
ALLELES
HOMOZYGOUS HETEROZYGOUS
If both alleles are identical, the If both alleles are different, the
individual is homozygous for this gene. individual is heterozygous for this gene.
WHAT IS A TRAIT?
A trait is an observable characteristic that is inherited
(passed down) from a living thing to its offspring. E.g:
eye color hair color tongue curling blood type
HOW ARE TRAITS PASSED DOWN?
Genes (carrying trait
g information) are passed to
en their offspring during
es
reproduction.
WHAT IS REPRODUCTION?
Reproduction is the process of how living
things produce offspring (babies).
There are two main
reproductive methods:
SEXUAL ASEXUAL
REPRODUCTION
SEXUAL
Offspring inherit half of
their trait information
from one parent, and
half from the other,
making the offspring
genetically distinct.
REPRODUCTION
ASEXUAL
e
Reproduction only requires m o n
a n e
one parent. Trait information sea
from the parent is passed
down to the offspring. The
offspring is therefore an
exact copy of the parent.
HOW SEX IS
DETERMINED IN
HUMAN BEINGS