Defining Inheritance & Related Terms

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

• Chromosomes are located in the nucleus of cells

• They are thread-like structures of DNA, carrying genetic information in the form of
genes

• A gene is a short length of DNA found on a chromosome that codes for a specific protein

• This could be a structural protein such as collagen found in skin cells, an enzyme or a
hormone

• Genes control our characteristics as they code for proteins that play important roles in
what our cells do

Genes are short lengths of DNA that code for a protein.

They are found on chromosomes

• Alleles are different versions of a particular gene. The ABO gene for blood group type
has three alleles, IA, IB and IO
 Diploid & Haploid Nuclei

• All humans have 23 different chromosomes in each cell

• In most body cells, not including the gametes (sex cells), we have 2 copies of each
chromosome, leading to a total of 46 chromosomes

• Nuclei with two sets of chromosomes are known as diploid nuclei

• The gametes (egg and sperm cells) only have one copy of each chromosome, meaning
they have a total of 23 chromosomes in each cell

• Nuclei with one set of unpaired chromosomes are known as haploid nuclei

EXAM TIP

An easy way to remember the difference between haploid and diploid is to remember:

Haploid = Half the normal number of chromosomes.

It’s worth noting that the human diploid chromosome number is 46. In an exam,
you may be given information about a different species, with a different number of
chromosomes. Make sure you read exam questions carefully.

17.2 INHERITANCE OF SEX

• Sex, or gender, is determined by an entire chromosome pair (as opposed to most other
characteristics that are just determined by one or a number of genes)

• Females have the sex chromosomes XX

• Males have the sex chromosomes XY

• As only a father can pass on a Y chromosome, he is responsible for determining the

gender of the child
17.2 INHERITANCE OF SEX cont...

Sperm cells determine the sex of offspring

• The inheritance of gender can be shown using a genetic diagram ( known as a Punnett
square), with the X and Y chromosomes taking the place of the alleles usually written in
the boxes

Punnett square showing the inheritance of gender

 Mitosis

The process of cell division by mitosis

 Meiosis
• The number of chromosomes must be halved when the gametes (sex cells) are formed

• Otherwise there would be double the number of chromosomes after they join at
fertilisation in the zygote (fertilized egg)

• This halving occurs during meiosis, and so it is described as a reduction division in which
the chromosome number is halved from diploid to haploid, resulting in genetically
different cells

• It starts with chromosomes doubling themselves as in mitosis and lining up in the centre
of the cell

• After this has happened the cells divide twice so that only one copy of each chromosome
passes to each gamete

• We describe gametes as being haploid – having half the normal number of chromosomes

• Because of this double division, meiosis produces four haploid cells

The process of cell division by meiosis to produce haploid gamete cells

 Differences between Mitosis & Meiosis

MITOSIS MEIOSIS

TWO CELLS PRODUCED (KNOWN AS FOUR CELLS PRODUCED (KNOWN AS

DAUGHTER CELLS) DAUGHTER CELLS)

DAUGHTER CELLS ARE DIPLOID DAUGHTER CELLS ARE HAPLOID

DAUGHTER CELLS ARE GENETICALLY DAUGHTER CELLS ARE GENETICALLY

IDENTICAL TO EACH OTHER AND TO DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER AND THE
THE PARENT CELL PARENT CELL

ONE CELL DIVISION OCCURS TWO CELL DIVISIONS OCCUR

 Definitions

• A gene is a short length of DNA found on a chromosome that codes for a particular
characteristic (expressed by the formation of different proteins)

• Alleles are variations of the same gene

• For example, the gene for eye colour can have the alleles blue or brown

• As we have two copies of each chromosome, we have two copies of each gene and
therefore two alleles for each gene

• One of the alleles is inherited from the mother and the other from the father

• This means that the alleles do not have to ‘say’ the same thing

• For example, an individual has two copies of the gene for eye colour but one allele could
code for brown eyes and one allele could code for blue eyes

• The observable characteristics of an organism (seen just by looking – like eye colour, or
found – like blood type) is called the phenotype

• The combination of alleles that control each characteristic is called the genotype

• Alleles can be dominant or recessive

• A dominant allele only needs to be inherited from one parent in order for the
characteristic to show up in the phenotype

• A recessive allele needs to be inherited from both parents in order for the characteristic
to show up in the phenotype

• If there is only one recessive allele, it will remain hidden and the dominant characteristic
will show

• If the two alleles of a gene are the same, we describe the individual as being homozygous
(homo = same)

• An individual could be homozygous dominant (having two copies of the dominant allele),
or homozygous recessive (having two copies of the recessive allele)

• If the two alleles of a gene are different, we describe the individual as being heterozygous
(hetero = different)

• When completing genetic diagrams, alleles are abbreviated to single letters

• The dominant allele is given a capital letter and the recessive allele is given the same
letter, but lower case
Alleles of a gene can carry the same instructions or different instructions. You
can only inherit two alleles for each gene, and they can be the same or different

• We cannot always tell the genotype of an individual for a particular characteristic just by
looking at the phenotype – a phenotype associated with a dominant allele will be seen in
both a dominant homozygous and a dominant heterozygous genotype

• If two individuals who are both identically homozygous for a particular characteristic
are bred together, they will produce offspring with exactly the same genotype and
phenotype as the parents – we describe them as being ‘pure breeding’ as they will
always produce offspring with the same characteristics

• A heterozygous individual can pass on different alleles for the same characteristic
each time it is bred with any other individual and can therefore produce offspring
with a different genotype and phenotype than the parents – as such, heterozygous
individuals are not pure breeding

Genetic Diagrams

• Monohybrid inheritance is the inheritance of characteristics controlled by a single gene

(mono = one)

• This can be determined using a genetic diagram known as a Punnett square

• A Punnett square diagram shows the possible combinations of alleles that could be
produced in the offspring

• From this the ratio of these combinations can be worked out

• Remember the dominant allele is shown using a capital letter and the recessive allele is
shown using the same letter but lower case

• You should always write the dominant allele first, followed by the recessive allele

• Example:

• The height of pea plants is controlled by a single gene that has two alleles: tall and short

• The tall allele is dominant and is shown as T

• The small allele is recessive and is shown as t

‘Show the possible allele combinations of the offspring produced when a pure
breeding short plant is bred with a pure breeding tall plant’

• The term ‘pure breeding’ indicates that the individual is homozygous for that characteristic

A pure-breeding genetic cross in pea plants

• This shows that there is a 100% chance that all the offspring will be tall

‘Show the possible allele combinations of the offspring produced when two
of the offspring from the first cross are bred together’

A genetic cross diagram (F2 Generation)

• All of the offspring of the first cross have the same genotype, Tt (heterozygous), so the
possible combinations of offspring bred from these are:

• There is more variation in this cross, with a 3:1 ratio of tall : short, meaning each
offspring has a 75% chance of being tall and a 25% chance of being short

• The F2 generation is produced when the offspring of the F1 generation (pure-

breeding parents) are allowed to interbreed

‘Show the results of crossing a heterozygous plant with a short plant’

• The heterozygous plant will be tall with the genotype Tt

• The short plant is showing the recessive phenotype and so must be homozygous recessive
– tt

• The results of this cross are as follows:

A cross between a heterozygous plant

with a short plant

• In this cross, there is a 1:1 ratio of tall to short, meaning a 50% chance of the offspring
being tall and a 50% chance of the offspring being short
 Test Cross
• The short plant is showing the recessive phenotype and so must be homozygous
recessive – tt

Determining genotypes from offspring

• If the tall plant is homozygous dominant, all offspring produced will be tall

• If the tall plant is heterozygous, half the offspring will be tall and the other half will be short