Chapter 15

The Chromosomal Basis of

Inheritance

PowerPoint Lectures for

Biology, Seventh Edition
Neil Campbell and Jane Reece

Lectures by Chris Romero

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 • Overview: Locating Genes on Chromosomes

• Genes
– Are located on chromosomes

– Can be visualized using certain techniques

Figure 15.1
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 • Concept 15.1: Mendelian inheritance has its
physical basis in the behavior of chromosomes
• Several researchers proposed in the early
1900s that genes are located on chromosomes
• The behavior of chromosomes during meiosis
was said to account for Mendel’s laws of
segregation and independent assortment

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 • The chromosome theory of inheritance states
that
– Mendelian genes have specific loci on
chromosomes
– Chromosomes undergo segregation and
independent assortment

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 • The chromosomal basis of Mendel’s laws
P Generation Yellow-round Green-wrinkled
Starting with two true-breeding pea plants,
we follow two genes through the F1 and F2 seeds (YYRR) seeds (yyrr)
Y y
generations. The two genes specify seed r
color (allele Y for yellow and allele y for Y R R r
green) and seed shape (allele R for round y
and allele r for wrinkled). These two genes are
on different chromosomes. (Peas have seven Meiosis
chromosome pairs, but only two pairs are
illustrated here.)
Fertilization
R Y y r
Gametes

All F1 plants produce

yellow-round seeds (YyRr)

R R
F1 Generation y y
r r
Y Y
Meiosis
LAW OF SEGREGATION LAW OF INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT
R r r R
Two equally
probable
Y y arrangements Y y
of chromosomes 1 Alleles at both loci segregate
at metaphase I in anaphase I, yielding four
1 The R and r alleles segregate
at anaphase I, yielding R r r R types of daughter cells
two types of daughter depending on the chromosome
Anaphase I arrangement at metaphase I.
cells for this locus.
Compare the arrangement of
Y y Y y the R and r alleles in the cells
on the left and right

R r r R
2 Each gamete
Metaphase II 2 Each gamete gets
gets one long
chromosome a long and a short
Y y y y
with either the chromosome in
R or r allele. one of four allele
combinations.
Y Y Y y
Y Y Y y
Gametes r
R R r r r R R

1 1 yr 1 yr 1
YR yR
4 4 4 4
F2 Generation
Fertilization among the F1 plants
3 Fertilization 3 Fertilization results
recombines the in the 9:3:3:1
phenotypic ratio in
Figure 15.2 R and r alleles
at random.
9 :3 :3 :1
the F2 generation.

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 Morgan’s Experimental Evidence: Scientific Inquiry
• Thomas Hunt Morgan
– Provided convincing evidence that
chromosomes are the location of Mendel’s
heritable factors

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 Morgan’s Choice of Experimental Organism
• Morgan worked with fruit flies
– Because they breed at a high rate

– A new generation can be bred every two

weeks
– They have only four pairs of chromosomes

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 • Morgan first observed and noted
– Wild type, or normal, phenotypes that were
common in the fly populations

• Traits alternative to the wild type

– Are called mutant phenotypes

Figure 15.3
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 Correlating Behavior of a Gene’s Alleles with
Behavior of a Chromosome Pair
• In one experiment Morgan mated male flies
with white eyes (mutant) with female flies with
red eyes (wild type)
– The F1 generation all had red eyes

– The F2 generation showed the 3:1 red:white

eye ratio, but only males had white eyes

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 • Morgan determined
– That the white-eye mutant allele must be
located on the X chromosome
EXPERIMENT Morgan mated a wild-type (red-eyed) female
with a mutant white-eyed male. The F 1 offspring all had red eyes.

P X
Generation

F1
Generation
Morgan then bred an F1 red-eyed female to an F 1 red-eyed male to
produce the F2 generation.
RESULTS The F2 generation showed a typical Mendelian
3:1 ratio of red eyes to white eyes. However, no females displayed the
white-eye trait; they all had red eyes. Half the males had white eyes,
and half had red eyes.
F2
Generation
Figure 15.4
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 CONCLUSION Since all F1 offspring had red eyes, the mutant
white-eye trait (w) must be recessive to the wild-type red-eye trait (w+).
Since the recessive trait—white eyes—was expressed only in males in
the F2 generation, Morgan hypothesized that the eye-color gene is
located on the X chromosome and that there is no corresponding locus
on the Y chromosome, as diagrammed here.
W+ W
P X X
X
Generation X Y
W+

Ova W
(eggs) Sperm
F1 W +
W +
W+
Generation
W

W+
Ova
(eggs) Sperm
F2
Generation W+ W+
W+

W+
W W
W

W+

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 • Morgan’s discovery that transmission of the X
chromosome in fruit flies correlates with
inheritance of the eye-color trait
– Was the first solid evidence indicating that a
specific gene is associated with a specific
chromosome

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 • Concept 15.2: Linked genes tend to be
inherited together because they are located
near each other on the same chromosome
• Each chromosome
– Has hundreds or thousands of genes

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 How Linkage Affects Inheritance: Scientific Inquiry
• Morgan did other experiments with fruit flies
– To see how linkage affects the inheritance of
two different characters

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 • Morgan crossed flies
– That differed in traits of two different
characters P Generation
(homozygous)
Double mutant
EXPERIMENT Morgan first mated true-breeding (black body,
wild-type flies with black, vestigial-winged flies to produce Wild type x vestigial wings)
Double mutant
heterozygous F1 dihybrids, all of which are wild-type in (gray body,
(black body,
appearance. He then mated wild-type F1 dihybrid females with normal wings)
vestigial wings) b b vg vg
black, vestigial-winged males, producing 2,300 F2 offspring, b b vg+ vg+
+ +

which he “scored” (classified according to F1 dihybrid Double mutant

phenotype). Double mutant
TESTCROSS
(wild type) (black body,
(black body,
(gray body, x vestigial wings)
vestigial wings)
normal wings) b b vg vg
CONCLUSION If these two genes were on
different chromosomes, the alleles from the F1 dihybrid b+ b vg+ vg
would sort into gametes independently, and we would
expect to see equal numbers of the four types of offspring. RESULTS b+vg+ b vg b+ vg b vg+
If these two genes were on the same chromosome,
we would expect each allele combination, B+ vg+ and b vg, 965 944 206 185
to stay together as gametes formed. In this case, only Wild type Black- Gray- Black-
offspring with parental phenotypes would be produced. (gray-normal) vestigial vestigial normal
Since most offspring had a parental phenotype, Morgan b vg
concluded that the genes for body color and wing size Sperm
are located on the same chromosome. However, the
production of a small number of offspring with
nonparental phenotypes indicated that some mechanism
occasionally breaks the linkage between genes on the b+ b vg+ vg b b vg vg b+ b vg vgb b vg+ vg
same chromosome.
Parental-type Recombinant (nonparental-type)
Figure 15.5 offspring offspring

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 • Morgan determined that
– Genes that are close together on the same
chromosome are linked and do not assort
independently
– Unlinked genes are either on separate
chromosomes of are far apart on the same
chromosome and assort independently
b+ vg+ b vg
X
Parents
in testcross b vg b vg

Most b+ vg+ b vg
offspring or
b vg b vg

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 Genetic Recombination and Linkage

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 Recombination of Unlinked Genes: Independent
Assortment of Chromosomes

• When Mendel followed the inheritance of two

characters
– He observed that some offspring have
combinations of traits that do not match either
parent in the P generation
Gametes from yellow-round
heterozygous parent (YyRr)

YR yr Yr yR

Gametes from green-

wrinkled homozygous yr
recessive parent (yyrr) YyRr yyrr Yyrr yyRr

Parental- Recombinant
type offspring offspring
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 • Recombinant offspring
– Are those that show new combinations of the
parental traits

• When 50% of all offspring are recombinants

– Geneticists say that there is a 50% frequency
of recombination

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 Recombination of Linked Genes: Crossing Over
• Morgan discovered that genes can be linked
– But due to the appearance of recombinant
phenotypes, the linkage appeared incomplete

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 • Morgan proposed that
– Some process must occasionally break the
physical connection between genes on the
same chromosome
– Crossing over of homologous chromosomes
was the mechanism

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 • Linked genes
– Exhibit recombination frequencies less than 50%
Testcross Gray body, b+ vg+ b   vg Black body,
parents normal wings vestigial wings
(F1 dihybrid) b vg  b   vg (double mutant)
Replication of Replication of
chromosomes chromosomes
b+ vg b vg

b+ vg+ b vg
vg vg
b b
Meiosis I: Crossing b vg b   vg
over between b and vg
loci produces new allele
combinations.

Meiosis I and II:

Meiosis II: Segregation Even if crossing over
of chromatids produces occurs, no new allele
recombinant gametes combinations are
with the new allele Recombinant
produced.
combinations. chromosome

Gametes Ova Sperm

b+vg+ b   vg b vg+ b vg+
b vg

b+  vg+ b   vg b+   vg b   vg+ Ova

Testcross
offspring 965 944 206 185
Sperm Wild type Black- Gray- Black-
Recombination 391 recombinants
(gray-normal) vestigial
b+  vg+ b  vg+
vestigial
b+  vg+
normal
b  vg+ frequency = 2,300 total offspring  100 = 17%
b vg
b  vg b  vg b  vg b  vg
Figure 15.6 Parental-type offspring Recombinant offspring

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 Linkage Mapping: Using Recombination Data:
Scientific Inquiry

• A genetic map
– Is an ordered list of the genetic loci along a
particular chromosome
– Can be developed using recombination
frequencies

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 • A linkage map
– Is the actual map of a chromosome based on
recombination frequencies
APPLICATION A linkage map shows the relative locations of genes along a chromosome.
TECHNIQUE A linkage map is based on the assumption that the probability of a crossover between two
genetic loci is proportional to the distance separating the loci. The recombination frequencies used to construct
a linkage map for a particular chromosome are obtained from experimental crosses, such as the cross depicted
in Figure 15.6. The distances between genes are expressed as map units (centimorgans), with one map unit
equivalent to a 1% recombination frequency. Genes are arranged on the chromosome in the order that best fits the data.

RESULTS In this example, the observed recombination frequencies between three Drosophila gene pairs
(b–cn 9%, cn–vg 9.5%, and b–vg 17%) best fit a linear order in which cn is positioned about halfway between
the other two genes:
Recombination
frequencies
9% 9.5%
17%

Chromosome b cn vg

The b–vg recombination frequency is slightly less than the sum of the b–cn and cn–vg frequencies because double
crossovers are fairly likely to occur between b and vg in matings tracking these two genes. A second crossover
Figure 15.7 would “cancel out” the first and thus reduce the observed b–vg recombination frequency.
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 • The farther apart genes are on a chromosome
– The more likely they are to be separated
during crossing over

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 • Many fruit fly genes
– Were mapped initially using recombination
frequencies I
Y X IV
II III

Mutant phenotypes
Short Black Cinnabar Vestigial Brown
aristae body eyes wings eyes

0 48.5 57.5 67.0 104.5

Long aristae Gray Red Normal Red

(appendages body eyes wings eyes
on head)
Figure 15.8 Wild-type phenotypes
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 • Concept 15.3: Sex-linked genes exhibit unique
patterns of inheritance

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 The Chromosomal Basis of Sex
• An organism’s sex
– Is an inherited phenotypic character
determined by the presence or absence of
certain chromosomes

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 • In humans and other mammals
– There are two varieties of sex chromosomes,
X and Y
44 + Parents 44 +
XY XX

22 + Sperm 22 + Ova 22 +
X Y XY

44 + Zygotes 44 +
XX (offspring) XY

(a) The X-Y system

Figure 15.9a

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 • Different systems of sex determination
– Are found in other organisms
22 + 22 +
XX X

(b) The X–0 system

76 + 76 +
ZW ZZ

(c) The Z–W system

16 16
(Diploid) (Haploid)

Figure 15.9b–d (d) The haplo-diploid system

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 Inheritance of Sex-Linked Genes
• The sex chromosomes
– Have genes for many characters unrelated to
sex

• A gene located on either sex chromosome

– Is called a sex-linked gene

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 • Sex-linked genes
– Follow specific patterns of inheritance
X AX A X aY
(a) A father with the disorder will transmit the
mutant allele to all daughters but to no
sons. When the mother is a dominant Sperm
homozygote, the daughters will have the Xa Y
normal phenotype but will be carriers of
the mutation. Ova XA XAXa XAY

XA X Y X Y
A a A

XAXa  XA Y
(b) If a carrier mates with a male of
normal phenotype, there is a 50%
chance that each daughter will be a Sperm
XA Y
carrier like her mother, and a 50%
chance that each son will have the
Ova XA XAXA XAY
disorder.

X a X aY A X a Y

(c) If a carrier mates with a male who

has the disorder, there is a 50% XA X a  Xa Y
chance that each child born to them
will have the disorder, regardless of
sex. Daughters who do not have the Sperm
disorder will be carriers, where as Xa Y
males without the disorder will be
completely free of the recessive Ova XA XAXa XAY
allele.

Figure 15.10a–c X a XaYa X aY

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 • Some recessive alleles found on the X
chromosome in humans cause certain types of
disorders
– Color blindness

– Duchenne muscular dystrophy

– Hemophilia

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 X inactivation in Female Mammals
• In mammalian females
– One of the two X chromosomes in each cell is
randomly inactivated during embryonic
development

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 • If a female is heterozygous for a particular
gene located on the X chromosome
– She will be a mosaic for that character
Two cell populations
in adult cat:

Active X

Early embryo: Orange

X chromosomes fur
Cell division
and X Inactive X
chromosome Inactive X
inactivation
Black
fur

Allele for Active X

black fur
Figure 15.11

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 • Concept 15.4: Alterations of chromosome
number or structure cause some genetic
disorders
• Large-scale chromosomal alterations
– Often lead to spontaneous abortions or cause
a variety of developmental disorders

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 Abnormal Chromosome Number
• When nondisjunction occurs
– Pairs of homologous chromosomes do not
separate normally during meiosis
– Gametes contain two copies or no copies of a
particular chromosome
Meiosis I

Nondisjunction
Meiosis II

Nondisjunction
Gametes

n+1 n+1 n1 n–1 n+1 n –1 n n

Number of chromosomes
(a) Nondisjunction of homologous (b) Nondisjunction of sister
Figure 15.12a, b chromosomes in meiosis I chromatids in meiosis II

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 • Aneuploidy
– Results from the fertilization of gametes in
which nondisjunction occurred
– Is a condition in which offspring have an
abnormal number of a particular chromosome

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 • If a zygote is trisomic
– It has three copies of a particular chromosome

• If a zygote is monosomic
– It has only one copy of a particular
chromosome

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 • Polyploidy
– Is a condition in which there are more than two
complete sets of chromosomes in an organism

Figure 15.13

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 Alterations of Chromosome Structure
• Breakage of a chromosome can lead to four
types of changes in chromosome structure
– Deletion

– Duplication

– Inversion

– Translocation

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 • Alterations of chromosome structure
A B C D E F G H A B C E F G H
(a) A deletion removes a chromosomal Deletion
segment.

A B C D E F G H A B C B C D E F G H
(b) A duplication repeats a segment. Duplication

A B C D E F G H A D C B E F G H
(c) An inversion reverses a segment within Inversion
a chromosome.

(d) A translocation moves a segment from

one chromosome to another,
nonhomologous one. In a reciprocal A B C D E F G H M N O C D E F G H
  translocation, the most common type,
Reciprocal
nonhomologous chromosomes exchange
translocation
fragments. Nonreciprocal translocations
also occur, in which a chromosome M N O P Q R A B P Q R
transfers a fragment without receiving a
fragment in return.

Figure 15.14a–d
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 Human Disorders Due to Chromosomal Alterations
• Alterations of chromosome number and
structure
– Are associated with a number of serious
human disorders

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 Down Syndrome
• Down syndrome
– Is usually the result of an extra chromosome
21, trisomy 21

Figure 15.15

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 Aneuploidy of Sex Chromosomes
• Nondisjunction of sex chromosomes
– Produces a variety of aneuploid conditions

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 • Klinefelter syndrome
– Is the result of an extra chromosome in a male,
producing XXY individuals

• Turner syndrome
– Is the result of monosomy X, producing an X0
karyotype

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 Disorders Caused by Structurally Altered Chromosomes
• Cri du chat
– Is a disorder caused by a deletion in a
chromosome

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 • Certain cancers
– Are caused by translocations of chromosomes

Normal chromosome 9 Translocated chromosome 9

Reciprocal
translocation

Philadelphia
chromosome

Normal chromosome 22 Translocated chromosome 22

Figure 15.16

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 • Concept 15.5: Some inheritance patterns are
exceptions to the standard chromosome theory
• Two normal exceptions to Mendelian genetics
include
– Genes located in the nucleus

– Genes located outside the nucleus

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 Genomic Imprinting
• In mammals
– The phenotypic effects of certain genes
depend on which allele is inherited from the
mother and which is inherited from the father

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 • Genomic imprinting
– Involves the silencing of certain genes that are
“stamped” with an imprint during gamete
production
Normal Igf2 allele
(expressed)
Paternal
chromosome
Maternal
chromosome

Normal Igf2 allele

with imprint Wild-type mouse
(not expressed) (normal size)
(a) A wild-type mouse is homozygous for the normal igf2 allele.
Normal Igf2 allele
Paternal

Maternal
Mutant
lgf2 allele Normal size mouse

Mutant
lgf2 allele

Paternal

Maternal

Normal Igf2 allele Dwarf mouse

with imprint
(b) When a normal Igf2 allele is inherited from the father, heterozygous mice grow to normal size.
But when a mutant allele is inherited from the father, heterozygous mice have the dwarf
Figure 15.17a, b phenotype.

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 Inheritance of Organelle Genes
• Extranuclear genes
– Are genes found in organelles in the cytoplasm

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 • The inheritance of traits controlled by genes
present in the chloroplasts or mitochondria
– Depends solely on the maternal parent
because the zygote’s cytoplasm comes from
the egg

Figure 15.18
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 • Some diseases affecting the muscular and
nervous systems
– Are caused by defects in mitochondrial genes
that prevent cells from making enough ATP

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