HEREDITY

a) Heredity The transfer of characters or traits from the parents to their off springs is called
heredity.

b) Variations The differences between the characters or traits among the individuals of the
same species are called variations.

2. Accumulation of variations: during reproduction when organisms reproduce, the off

springs show minor variations due to inaccuracies in DNA copying. These variations are less
in asexual reproduction and more in sexual reproduction.

Q. Do all variations in species have equal chances of surviving in the environment in which
they find themselves?

ANS: Depending upon the variations, Some variations are useful variations and they help the
organism to adjust to the changes in the environment. Some variations do not help the
organism to adjust to the changes in the environment and they may die and become extinct.

3) Rules for inheritance of characters (traits): Characters are transferred through genes
present in the DNA molecules in the chromosomes present in the nucleus of the cell. The
inheritance of characters is due to the fact that both the father and mother contributes equal
amount of genetic material to the child. So for each trait there are two factors one from the
father and one from the mother. Gregor Johann Mendel conducted experiments with garden
pea plants and determined the rules for the inheritance of traits.

DNA- Deoxyribonucleic Acid It is the chemical name for the molecule that carries genetic
instructions in all living organisms.

Gene-is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are made up of DNA. It is
a segment of DNA that codes for a particular phenotype/function.

Alleles: are different forms of the same gene. For example a gene which controls height in
pea plant has two alternative form, one of the allele controls tallnes (T) while the other
controls dwarfness (t).

Phenotype: observable physical characteristics of an organism. It is determined by both

genetic makeup and environmental influences.

Genotype: Set of genes that an organism carries.

Homozygous- means that the organism has two copies of the same allele for a gene i.e. TT
or tt. Heterozygous- means that an organism has two different alleles of a gene eg. Tt.

Dominant trait- is the one that will express phenotypically in the heterozygotes. A
dominant allele is expressed by capital letter (T).
Recessive trait- is the one that will only express in homozyogotes. A recessive allele is
expressed by small letter (t).

Mendel’s Laws of Heredity

❑Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, carried important studies on Heredity.

❑He is regarded as Father of Genetics.

❑He was the first person who succeded in predicting how traits are transferred from one
generation to the next generation.

❑ Mendel worked on Pea Plants- Pisum sativum

Because-

1. They can grow easily in large numbers.

2. They can be either self-pollinated themselves or cross-pollinated with another plant.
3. They contain many contrasting characters.
Seven characters studied by Mendel

a) When plants having one pair of character (Eg:- tall and short plants) was crossed
(Monohybridcross)
b) Mendel selected pea plants having one pair of character - a tall pea plant and a short
pea plant. He selected pure tall (TT) and pure short (tt) pea plants and cross pollinated
them. He obtained all tall plants (Tt) in the first generation (F1 ). When the first
generation plants were self pollinated, he obtained tall and dwarf plants in the ratio 3:1
in the second generation. (F2 ) The ratio of pure tall (TT), hybrid tall (Tt) and pure
dwarf (tt) was in the ratio 1:2:1 The trait that is expressed in the F1 generation is
called the dominant trait and the trait that is supressed in the F1, is called the recessive
trait.

MONOHYBRID CROSS:
RESULTS IN %AGE:

75% TALL : 25% DWARF

25% HOMOZYGOUS TALL: 50% HETEROZYGOUS TALL: 25%

HOMOZYGOUS RECESSIVE.

MONOHYBRID CROSS WITH FLOWER COLOUR:

c) DIHYBRID CROSS:
 When plants having two pairs of characters (Eg:- shape and colour of seeds) were
crossed (Dihvbrid cross) Mendel selected pea plants having two pairs of characters -
shape and colour of seed. He selected plants having round yellow seeds (RRYY) and
wrinkled green seeds (rryy) and cross pollinated them. He obtained all plants with
round yellow seeds (RrYy) in the F1 generation. When these plants were self
pollinated in the F2 generation out of 16 plants, 9 had round yellow (RrYy), 3 had
round green (Rryy), 3 had wrinkled yellow (rrYy) and 1 had wrinkled green (rryy)
seed in the ratio 9:3:3:1

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MENDEL’S FIRST LAW AND SECOND LAW:

MONOHYBRID CROSS DIHYBRID CROSS

1. Studies one trait. 1. Studies two traits
2. Shows the inheritance of one gene 2.Shows the inheritance of two genes.
3. F2 generation Phenotypic Ratio is 3:1 3.F2 generation Phenotypic Ratio is
9:3:3:1
4. The cross helps to reveal how different 4 This cross helps to reveal the transfer of
traits are transferred from one different traits together from one
generation to another. generation to the next.
5. It proves Law of Dominance & Law of 5 It proves Law of Independent
Segregation Assortment & Law of Segregation

HOW DO TRAITS GET EXPRESSED?:

Q. What is the information source of making proteins in a cell?

Ans. Cellular DNA

Q. Define the term Gene.

Ans. The section of DNA that provides the information for one protein is called the gene of
that protein.

Q. How do proteins control the characters?

Ans. To explain this concept, let us take an example of Tallness as a characteristic.

Plant have hormone which trigger growth.

So plant height is directly dependent on the amount of this particular hormone in the body.

Now let us suppose there is an enzyme which is important for the synthesis of that hormone.

If the enzyme works efficiently, a lot of hormone will be formedTall Plant

If the gene for this enzyme has some variations, that makes enzyme less efficientShort
Plant

Thus genes control the characters or traits.

PARENTAL CONTRIBUTION IN NEXT PROGENY:

As both the parents can help in determining the trait of the progeny, so both the parents are
contributing a copy of same gene.

It means each pea plant have two sets of all genes, one inherited from each parent.

For this mechanism to work each germ cell have only one gene set, formed during formation
of germ cells due to meiotic cell division.

If the progeny plant inherited a single whole set from each parent then DIHYBRID CROSS
will fail.

Thus each gene set is present not as a long tread of DNA, but as a separate independent
piece, each called as Chromosome.
Hence each cell has 2 copies of Chromosomes, 1 of Paternal and 1 of Maternal origin.

SEX DETERMINATION:

Different species have different strategies for Sex Determination.

1. In Some Reptiles, the temperature at which egg is kept will decide the sex of the
individual. Eg. In Lizard if eggs are kept at Low Temperature Female lizard.
If eggs are kept at high temperature Male Lizard.
2. In Snails, if young snail is growing in surrounding the females, it will develop into
Males, if they are growing in presence of Male, it will develop into female.
3. Sex determination in human beings: Human beings have 23 pairs of chromosomes in
the nucleus of the cell. Out of this two chromosomes are sex chromosomes X and Y.
The female has two X chromosomes (XX) and male has one X and one Y
chromosome (XY). The sperms and eggs have one set of sex chromosomes. Some
sperms have X chromosome and some have Y chromosome. All eggs have X
chromosome. If a sperm having X chromosome fuses with an egg having X
chromosome the child will be a girl. If a sperm having Y chromosome fuses with an
egg having X chromosome the child will be a boy.
Hence all children will inherit an X chromosome, from their Mother (either it is male
or female) and it is the Father who will decide the sex of the child.

Q. Why the pair of Sex Chromosome of males is called as Mismatched Pair?

ANS. As the pair of Sex Chromosome in males have X & Y chromosome, the Y-
chromosome is short and X chromosome is of normal size. Hence it is called as
mismatched pair.
But in females both the X chromosomes are of same size, hence called as PERFECT
PAIR.