Mendelian Patterns of Inheritance

These flashcards cover key concepts and vocabulary related to Mendelian patterns of inheritance, including Mendel's principles, genetic terminology, and examples of genetic disorders.

Gregor Mendel

Austrian monk known as the father of genetics for his work on pea plant inheritance.

Blending Concept

The idea that offspring are a blend of parental traits, proposed before Mendel's work.

Particulate Theory of Inheritance

Mendel's theory stating that traits are inherited as discrete units, not blended.

Law of Segregation

Each individual carries two alleles for each trait, which segregate during gamete formation.

Homozygous

An organism with two identical alleles for a trait.

Heterozygous

An organism with two different alleles for a trait.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an individual, represented by alleles.

Phenotype

The physical expression or characteristics of a genotype.

Dominant Allele

An allele that masks the expression of another allele.

Recessive Allele

An allele whose expression is masked by a dominant allele.

Punnett Square

A grid used to predict the genotypes of offspring from parental genotypes.

Testcross

Breeding a dominant phenotype organism with a homozygous recessive to determine its genotype.

Dihybrid Cross

A breeding experiment that involves two traits with two alleles.

Independent Assortment

The principle that alleles for different traits segregate independently during gamete formation.

Autosomal Dominant

A pattern of inheritance where only one copy of a dominant allele is needed for phenotype expression.

Autosomal Recessive

A pattern of inheritance in which two copies of a recessive allele are necessary for phenotype expression.

Cystic Fibrosis

An autosomal recessive disorder that leads to thick mucus production in the lungs.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

An autosomal dominant disorder characterized by brittle bones.

Mendelian Inheritance

Patterns of inheritance that are characteristic of organisms that reproduce sexually.

Alleles

Different forms of a gene located at a specific position on a chromosome.

P generation

The parental generation in genetic crosses.

F1 generation

The first filial generation, offspring of the P generation.

F2 generation

The second filial generation, offspring of the F1 generation.

Multiple Alleles

More than two possible alleles exist for a trait in the population.

Codominance

A situation in which both alleles in a heterozygote are fully expressed.

Incomplete Dominance

A form of intermediate inheritance where one allele for a specific trait is not completely dominant over the other.

Polygenic Inheritance

Inheritance pattern of a trait controlled by multiple genes.

Pleiotropy

A single gene affecting multiple phenotypic traits.

X-Linked Inheritance

Inheritance of traits determined by genes on the X chromosome.

Hemophilia

An X-linked recessive disorder characterized by excessive bleeding due to lack of clotting factors.

Menkes Syndrome

An X-linked disorder affecting copper metabolism, leading to various health issues.

Genetic Disorders

Medical conditions caused by alleles inherited from parents.

Autosome

Any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome.

X-Linked Recessive Disorders

Disorders where males are more frequently affected due to the single X chromosome.