Genetics

how is genetics used?

disease study/transmission

increase agricultural output

pharmaceuticals

medicine

characteristics of model organisms

easy to breed

short generations (lots of offspring)

cheap/easy to maintain

sequenced genome

homologous chromosomes

chromosomes are alike in size and structure and carry genetic info for the same set of characteristics

mendel’s principle of heredity

principle of independent assortment

concept of dominance

principle of segregation

epistasis

one gene masks the effect of another gene

epistasis dominant

a single copy of an allele is required to inhibit the expression of an allele at a different locus

epistasis recessive

two copies of an allele are required to inhibit the expression of an allele at a different locus

sex-influenced trait

characteristic encoded by autosomal genes that are more readily expressed in one sex

sex-linked trait

characteristic encoded by autosomal genes and expressed only in one sex

genetic maternal effect

phenotype of the offspring is determined by the genotype of the mother

polygenic

characteristics encoded by genes at many loci

pleiotropy

one gene affects multiple characteristics

ultrasonography

visualizing a fetus in which high-frequency sound is beamed into the uterus

amniocentesis

testing of fetal tissue by obtaining a sample of amniotic fluid from the uterus, fetal cells are cultured

chorionic villus sampling

a small piece of the chorion is removed from a pregnant woman, cells do not have to be cultured

noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS)

usually performed by testing fetal DNA found within maternal blood