Patterns of Inheritance: Simple Dominant/Recessive

Flow of Information 

In our Genetic Unit, we have focused on following the flow of information from

• DNA (gene) --> mRNA --> Protein --> appearance/function (phenotype)
• Mitosis: Parent Cell to identical daughter cells for growth and repair (and sometimes asexual reproduction)
• Meiosis: Combining genetic information from two parents to produce a genetic recombinant, the offspring. 

In each of these cases, we assumed that we knew the information contained in the gene and how it would be expressed in the phenotype. Or passed on to another cell via mitosis or meiosis.   

Flow of Information: Inheritance 

But what if we didn't know the specifics about the gene? What if we wanted to be able to look at an individual and figure out what genes and alleles they contained?   There are many applications for this type of problem solving , but here are two important ones

Breeding: Plant and animal breeders try to figure out the genes, alleles and patterns of  inheritance so they can produce the desired offspring ( Tomatoes of a certain color/flavor, faster growing and more productive corn, disease resistant bananas, drought tolerant lentils, etc(

Genetic Counseling:  the goal is to figure out the genes and alleles of the parents and the probability of deleterious phenotypes in the children so that parents can make informed decisions. For example, if parents know that their child  has inherited the allele for PKU disease, the mother changes  her diet and that of the child  and all is well. If they don't know this information, the child has severe problems. 

How To Determine Patterns of Inheritance

In this set of lectures and labs we are going to learn the techniques for figuring out the the pattern of inheritance, ie how to know what organisms to breed together to get certain offspring and what risks there are for certain genetic  diseases.  The first step in this process is to revisit and emphasize our genetics vocabulary. 

Assignment:

• • Open up your Lab Textbook to Chapter Inheritance ( Page 57) 
  • Read the information and fill in answers to the questions from Page 57-60 
  • Take a photograph of these pages and upload them to this Canvas page.
  • If you need more assistance, below is a video of myself going over the material.
  • You don't need to watch it to answer the questions, but it is there if you need help.