Genetics and Inheritance

These flashcards cover key concepts, definitions, and principles related to genetics and inheritance as discussed in the lecture.

Gene (Trait)

Information for a trait passed from a parent to the offspring.

Alleles

Alternate forms of a gene that determine the phenotype.

Homozygous

Having two of the same allele.

Heterozygous

Having two different alleles.

Genotype

The total set of alleles of an individual.

Phenotype

The physical observable trait expressed by an individual.

Dominant allele

An inherited characteristic that appears in an offspring if contributed from a parent through a dominant allele.

Recessive allele

An inherited characteristic that disappears in an offspring if contributed from a parent through a recessive allele.

Monohybrid Cross

A cross to study only variations of a single trait.

F1 generation

Offspring produced by crossing two true-breeding strains.

F2 generation

Offspring resulting from the self-fertilization of F1 plants.

Law of Segregation

States that every individual organism contains two alleles for each trait, which segregate during meiosis.

Law of independent assortment

Proposes that alleles for separate traits are passed independently of one another.

Polygenic inheritance

Occurs when multiple genes are involved in controlling the phenotype of a trait.

Pleiotropy

An allele that has more than one effect on the phenotype.

Codominance

A situation where both alleles contribute to the phenotype of the organism.

Incomplete dominance

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

Pedigree

A diagram that shows the occurrence of a genetic trait in several generations of a family.

Testcross

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