LECTURE 13

MENDEL’S LAWS
 Mendel’s First law of Inheritance
PRINCIPLE OF SEGREGATION
• It states that members of each pair of alleles
separate or segregate during the formation of
gametes.
• Only one allele can be carried in a single gamete.
One allele for each trait is inherited from each
parent to give a total of two alleles for each trait
• This law is best illustrated by a monohybrid
cross which illustrates the inheritance of only
one character.
• For example, in peas a monohybrid cross
between dominant round shaped seed and
wrinkled shape seed can be done.
Trait: Seed shape
Parent phenotype: Round x Wrinkled

Parent genotype: RR rr

Meisosis
R R r r
Gametes:

Fertilisation

F1 genotype: Rr Rr Rr Rr

F1Phenotype: Round Round Round Round

Genotype ratio: All are Rr

F2 genotype: Rr Rr

Meisosis

Gametes: R r R r

Fertilisation

F1 genotype: RR Rr Rr rr
F1Phenotype: Round Round Round Wrinkled

Genotype ratio: 1 RR : 2 Rr : rr
Phenotype ratio: 3 Round : 1 wrinkled, therefore its 3:1
Results Summary of Monohybrid Cross
1. Pure breeding round seeds carry allele (RR)
and are said to be homozygous dominant
while the pure wrinkled seeds carry (rr) and
are homozygous recessive.
2. The alleles exist in pairs but during meiosis
one of the two alleles is transmitted
separately to each gamete.
3. During formation of F1 hybrids different
alleles are brought together but do not
contaminate each other or mix up as they get
separated when forming the F1 gametes.
 Test Cross
• Its is a breeding test in which the F1 hybrid is
crossed with a homozygous recessive
organism to verify the genotype of an
individual.
• Used to determine the genotype of a
phenotypically dominant individual.
• It is not possible to identify the genotypes of
the individuals by looking at the offspring.
• Individuals that are homozygous dominant
and heterozygous have identical phenotypes.
• A breeder often needs to know that the stock will
breed true.
• In other words, the stock should be homozygous
for the desired character.
• If the feature is inherited through a recessive
allele, then any plant showing the feature in the
phenotype must be homozygous recessive.
• However the desired feature may be inherited
through a dominant allele and it will be
important check if the phenotype is homozygous
dominant or heterozygous.
• The physical appearance does not shown
whether the organism is homozygous dominant
or heterozygous.
• To find out which one it is, the individual must
be test crossed with a homozygous recessive
individual.
• For example, you may wish to know whether a
purple flowered plant you are interested in is a
pure breed or not.
• Supposing the white flowered plant is
homozygous recessive, you can perform a test
cross of a purple flowered plant with a
homozygous recessive plant.
• If half of the progeny from the test cross are
purple and half are white, the parent
phenotype is confirmed to be heterozygous.
• If all the progeny or offspring of the test cross
are purple then parent is confirmed to be
homozygous dominant.
 Back cross
• It is a cross of a hybrid individual with one of its
parents or individual genetically identical to
parents.
• It is done in order to produce offspring with the
genetic identity similar to that of the parent.
• The elite or desired trait is recovered.
• For example, a heterozygous individual for height
(Tt) may be crossed with its homozygous
dominant parent (TT) in order to maintain
homozygous dominant genotype.
• Back cross can also be cross if the a homozygous
recessive parent is used.
 Mendel’s second law of inheritance
LAW OF INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT
• It states that when two or more unlike genes
are brought together in a cross, they segregate
independently of each other during formation
of gametes (meiosis).
• For example genes/alleles of body shape is
inherited independent of height in pea plants.
• This law can be explained by studying the
inheritance of two characters simultaneously
using a dihybrid cross.
• Dihybrid cross: This is a cross between two
individuals with two or more pairs of genes, each
having two contrasting alleles.
• In one of Mendel’s dihybrid cross he chose seed
colour (yellow or green) and seed shape (round or
wrinkled).
• Pure dominant yellow round seeds (YYRR) were
crossed with plants having pure recesssive green
wrinkled seeds (yyrr) and heterozgous yellow round
seed plants(YyRr) were obtained in F1.
• Thus yellow colour of seed exhibited dominance
over green and round seed shape over wrinkled
seed shape independently.
• The dihybrid cross shows that gametes are
assorted independently because they end up a
random mix of alleles rather than a
predetermined set of either parents.
• This means that the inheritance of a dominant
or recessive allele for one characteristic such as
round or wrinkled seed has nothing to do with
the inheritance of alleles for other
characteristics such as yellow or green seed.
• An allele of one gene is equally likely to
combine with any allele of the gene as they
are passed from parents to offspring.
• The physical basis of independent assortment
is the random orientation of each bivalent
chromosome along the metaphase I plate with
respect to other bivalents.
• There are however, some exceptions to the
law of independent assortment.
• This is the case where genes are located close
to one another on a chromosome.
• This is called gene linkage as the genes that
are tightly linked on chromosomes, are
inherited together.
• Another example is a situation where a
phenotype is governed by more than one
gene.
• Inheritance of such phenotype is polygenic
inheritance.
• Example of polygenic inheritance is seen in
human height, skin colour, eye colour and
weight.
Dichotomous tree dihybrid cross
 Summary of Mendel’s work
• Mendel ‘s first law (Principle of segregation):
States that two alleles segregate randomly
during formation of gametes.
• He conducted an experiment of monohybrid
cross involves true-breeding strains that differ
in a single trait.
• His aim was to determine whether both parents
contribute equally to the phenotype of a
particular trait in offspring
• His observation was that the F1offspring of a
monohybrid cross will exactly resemble only
one of the parents.
• This is the principle of uniformity or
Complete dominance.
• Mendel noted that traits that disappear in
the F1 reappear in the F2.
• He concluded that one trait was dominant
and over masked the other one.
• The F2 has a ratio of about three individuals
with the phenotype of the F1 to one individual
with the “reappearing” phenotype
– 3:1 ratio
– 3/4 to 1/4
• Mendel reasoned that information to create
the trait was present in the F1 in the form of
“factors” now called genes.
• He confirmed the law of segregation using test
cross.
• Mendel’s second laws (Law of independent
assortment ): States two genes will assort or be
inherited independently and randomly from
each other.
• He conducted experiments involving the mixing
of two traits (dihybrid cross).
• The F2 results showed a 9:3:3:1 ratio.
• Mendel concluded that different traits are
inherited independently of each other, so that
there is no relation.
• This is only true for genes that are not linked
to each other.
• In independent assortment the chromosomes
that end up in a newly formed gamete are
randomly sorted from all possible
combinations of maternal and paternal
chromosomes.
• Gamete can end up with any combination of
paternal or maternal chromosomes
END OF LECTURE!
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