Mendelian Inheritance

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to Mendelian inheritance as outlined in the lecture notes.

Mendelian Inheritance

Patterns of how traits are passed from parents to offspring; established by Gregor Mendel.

Dominant Trait

A trait that masks the expression of a recessive trait when both traits are present.

Recessive Trait

A trait that becomes latent and disappears in the offspring of a hybridization but can reappear in later generations.

Law of Dominance

States that the dominant allele will be expressed in a heterozygote.

Law of Segregation

States that alleles segregate randomly during gamete formation.

Law of Independent Assortment

States that different traits assort independently.

Homozygous

Having two identical alleles of a gene.

Heterozygous

Having two different alleles of a gene.

Punnett Square

A tool used to predict the genotype ratios of offspring from parental crosses.

Phenotype

The observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism.

Genotype

The genetic constitution of an individual organism.

Monohybrid Cross

Examination of inheritance where only one trait is involved.

Dihybrid Cross

Examination of inheritance involving two traits simultaneously.

Trihybrid Cross

Analyzing inheritance patterns involving three separate traits simultaneously.

Complete Dominance

A situation where the dominant allele completely masks the effect of the recessive allele.

Incomplete Dominance

A genetic scenario in which neither allele is completely dominant, resulting in a blending of traits.

Codominance

A genetic scenario where both alleles are fully expressed and the phenotype displays both traits clearly.

Multiple Alleles

A situation where more than two alleles exist for a genetic trait.

Environmental Effects

Factors that can influence gene expression and the phenotype of an organism.

Sex-Linked Traits

Traits that are located on sex chromosomes and often exhibit different expressions based on sex.

Lethal Alleles

Alleles that cause death when expressed, often affecting genetic ratios.

Epistasis

Gene interaction where the effect of one gene is influenced by one or more other genes.

Testcross

A genetic cross done to determine the genotype of an individual with a dominant phenotype.

Gamete

A reproductive cell that contains half the genetic material of an organism.

Hybridization

The process of breeding two different varieties or species to produce offspring.

Alleles

Different versions of the same gene that may produce different traits.

Genetic Variability

The diversity of gene variations within a population.

Homologous Chromosomes

Pairs of chromosomes that are similar in shape, size, and genetic content.

Pedigree Analysis

A diagram that shows the inheritance of traits in a family.

Gene Linkage

The tendency of alleles that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together.

Allelic Frequency

How common an allele is in a population.

Phenotypic Ratio

The ratio of different phenotypes expressed in the offspring from a genetic cross.

Genotypic Ratio

The ratio of different genotypes that appear in offspring from a genetic cross.

Allele Dominance Hierarchy

The order of dominance among alleles that influence which traits are expressed.

Mendel's Postulates

Three laws established by Mendel: dominance, segregation, and independent assortment.

Purebred

Organisms that are genetically uniform for particular traits.

Carrier

An individual who carries one copy of a recessive allele that is not expressed.

Punnett Square Outcomes

The predicted genetic ratios derived from the combinations in a Punnett square.

Gamete Formation

The process of creating gametes through meiosis.

Genetic Disorders

Diseases caused by abnormalities in an individual's genetic material.