Genes and Heredity Vocab

Heredity

The passing of traits from parents to offspring

Dominant alleles

An allele whose traits always shows up in the organism when the allele is present

Recessive alleles

An allele that is hidden whenever the dominant allele is present

Probability

A number that describes how likely, it is that a particular event will occur

Genotype

An organisms genetic makeup, or allele combinations

Phenotype

An organisms physical appearance, or visible traits

Chromosome

A thread like structure within a cell’s nucleus that contains DNA that is passed from one generation to the next

Cell cycle

The series of events in which a cell grows, prepares or division, and divides to form 2 daughter cells

Pedigree

A tool that geneticists use to map out the inheritance of traits

Meiosis

The process that occurs in the formation if sex cells by which the number of chromosomes is reduced by half

Chromatids

The structure formed when a chromosome divides during meiosis.

Mitosis

The second stage of the cell cycle during which the cell’s nucleus divides into two new nuclei a done set of DNA is disturbed into each daughters

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid; the genetic material that carries information about an organism and is passed from parent to offspring

Protein Synthesis

The process by which amino acids link together to form proteins

Messenger RNA

Type of RNA that carries copies of instructions for the assembly of amino acids into proteins from DNA to ribosomes in the cytoplasm.

Transfer RNA

Type of RNA in the cytoplasm that carries an amino acid to the ribosome during protein synthesis.

Variation

Any difference between individuals of the same species

Sex chromosomes

The pair of chromosomes carrying genes that determine whether a person is biologically male or female

Autosomal Chromosomes

The 22 pairs of chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes

Mutation

Any change in the DNA of a gene or a chromosome

Sex-linked Gene

A gene carried in a sex chromosome