Portions:

● State that chromosomes are made of DNA,

● State that DNA contains genetic information in the form of a gene
● State that an allele is an alternative form of a gene
● Describe the inheritance form of sex in humans with reference to X and Y chromosomes
● Describe inheritance: the transmission of genetic information from generation to generation
● Outline the difference between genotype and phenotype
- genotype: the genetic make-up (the alleles) of an organism
- phenotype: the observable features (characteristics ) of an organism
● Outline the difference between heterozygous and homozygous alleles and give an example.
- homozygous: having two identical alleles of a particular gene. Ex: aa or AA
- heterozygous as having two different alleles of a particular gene. Ex: Aa or aA
● State that two identical homozygous individuals that breed together will be pure-breeding
● Describe a dominant allele as an allele that is expressed if it is present in the genotype
● Describe a recessive allele as an allele that is only expressed when there is no dominant allele of
the gene present in the genotype
● Interpret pedigree diagrams for the inheritance of a specific characteristic
- Example: question in your notebook about sickle cell (anemia) diagrams
● Use Punnett squares in crosses which result in more than one genotype to work out and show
the possible different genotypes
- Example: “if a male has brown eyes (Bb) and the female has blue eyes (bb), show a
punnett square that shows the probability of their offspring (child) have blue eyes / brown
eyes”
● Describe variation: differences between individuals of the same species
● State that variations are usually caused by both genes and environment
● State that mutations are genetic changes and can happen anywhere and anytime
● Describe natural selection with reference to:
● Genetic variation within a population

● Production of many offspring

● Competition for resources

● Individuals that are better adapted to the environment than others have a greater chance to live
longer and to reproduce
● Describe selective breeding with reference to:
● Selection by humans of individuals (of a species) with desirable features

● Crossing these individuals to produce the next generation

● Selection of offsprings showing the desirable features

● Outline how selective breeding by artificial selection is carried out over many generations to
improve crop plants and domesticated animals
● Outline the difference between natural and artificial selection
.

GENES, VARIATION & SELECTIVE

BREEEDING
Chromosome Definition: Chromosomes are x-shaped, thread-like structures in the
nucleus of an animal or plant cell that is made up of a single DNA molecule and proteins
known as histones that wrap around the DNA in the chromosome and structurally
support it. Chromosomes carry genomic information from cell to cell.
- There 46 chromosomes in a human cell- 23 (1 part of the pair) from mom & 23
(2nd part of the pair) from dad.
- Gametes only have 23 chromosomes as they are sex cells. In a female it’s X &
male it’s X & Y.
- The chromosome for a female offspring is XX and male offspring is XY.
- Most chromosomes are homologous.

DNA
Deoxyribonucleic Acid aka DNA is the carrier of genetic information that controls the
cell. It is a part of a chromosome and is located in the nucleus of a cell. It is in the
structure of a double-helix.
- The basic letters in DNA are CGTA

Genes
Sections of DNA inside a chromosome that code for proteins that code the genotype.

Reproduction
Reproduction is the process of producing offspring. There are two types:

- Sexual Reproduction involves two parents, together, producing an offspring that

inherits traits from both parents, causing variation.
- Asexual reproduction is the process of a single parent producing an offspring that
is an exact copy of the parent (the same genotype & phenotype),

Gender
In humans, a female has a pair of X chromosomes; one from the mom & one from the
dad. Only one of these chromosomes are active. A male has one X & one Y
chromosome, the X from teh mom & the Y chromosome from the dad. In a male both
these chromosomes are active. Hence, it is the male parent that decides the gender of
the offspring. If the offspring has 2 X chromosomes it is a female & if it has an x & a Y
chromosome it is a male.

Natural Selection
The process of organisms with favorable traits, in a species, caused by variation,
surviving a particular environment & passing down their genes to their offspring.
Individuals that aren’t well adapted will not survive the environment, therefore they will
not pass down their traits to the next generation. Often referred to as survival of the
fittest.

Selective Breeding/Artificial Selection

Selective Breeding/ Artificial Selection is the process of selecting organisms in a
species, with the most favorable traits, & having them produce offspring that inherit
those favorable traits. The process is repeated over many generations of offspring &
when 6 generations of a particular species inherit the same phenotype, a new species is
created.

Difference between Natural Selection & Selective Breeding

Natural selection is a process that is conducted naturally over many generations.
Humans don’t interfere in choosing organisms or choosing traits. It is a natural; process
that occurs to help a species adapt to its environment & mainly occurs to help an
organism survive & thrive.
But, Selective Breeding or artificial selection is a process conducted by humans, as we
select particular organisms, in a species, with favorable traits & have them reproduce.
This process takes many generations too but, the purpose is not to help the species
survive, but to create a new species or organisms that will meet the needs & wants of
the human species.

Inheritance
Inheritance is the transmission of genetic information from the parent to the offspring.
The traits are passed down from generation to generation and results in the members,
successors & predeceessors of a family possessing the same genotype & phenotype.
This is as when an individual with a specific genotype or a dominant allele produces an
offspring, the offspring inherits the dominant allele & passes it down the next
generation. As teh process continues, members of the same family inherit the same
genotype & phenotype. For example: if a homozygous dominant male & a heterozygous
recessive female produce an offspring the offspring will inherit the dominant trait.

Phenotype
The observable traits or features of an organism.
Genotype
The set of genes or alleles that an organism possesses.

Difference between Genotype & Phenotype

A genotype is the observable or physical traits of an organism while the genotype is the
genetic make-up of an organism. It is different as the genotype refers to genetics & the
genes & alleles an organism possesses, while the phenotype refers to the physical &
viewable characteristics of an organism. For example: A phenotype refers to the eye
color of an organism while the genotype refers to the alleles that code the eye color.

Variation
Variation is the difference in genotype & phenotype between two organisms of the same
species. It is caused by either the the genes of an organism, which is usually inherited
from the parent or is caused by a mutation, as a mutation may create new alleles
different from the pervious or original ones. Variation can also be caused by the
environment as factors such as the location we live in, our food intake, etc. can affect
our phenotype which causes variation. For example: a human from the Middle East is
likely to have darker skin compared to a human from Europe.

Evolution

Allele
The two forms of a gene, present in an organism, determine the phenotype. One form is
inherited from the male parent & the second from the female parent. Some alleles may
be dominant & some recessive. Dominant alleles tend to be the allele that often codes
phenotype, with recessive alleles being present in the gene but not in the phenotype of
an organism. Recessive alleles do sometimes express themselves in the phenotype but
only if the parents are both homozygous recessive.

Heterozygous
A heterozygous individual is someone who has 2 different alleles coding for the same
phenotype.

Homozygous
An individual with identical alleles coding for a particular phenotype.

Difference between Heterozygous & Homozygous

An individual with heterozygous alleles will have 2 different alleles, in their genotype,
coding for the same phenotype. For example: for eye color, if an organism’s parents
have blue & brown eyes, the alleles will be Bb. This is heterozygous as there are two
different alleles, B for brown & b for blue.
However, a homozygous individual will have the same alleles coding for a particular
phenotype. For example: if an organism’s parents both have brown eyes, the offspring’s
alleles will be BB. Both of these are the same alleles, making it homozygous.
One allele is inherited from the male parent & the other from the female, and the alleles
depend on whether the parents have homozygous dominant/recessive alleles or
Heterozygous dominant/recessive.
Mutations
A change in the DNA sequence of an organism that is caused by either errors in DNA
replication during cell division, exposure to mutagens or a viral infections. Mutations can
occur anywhere & at any time as cells are constantly replicating each second, and a
small error during that process could lead to a mutation.

Pure Breeding
Two identical homozygous individuals breeding together, will produce a homozygous
offspring and will hence be pure-breeding. This is because both parents have the same
homozygous alleles & the offspring will inherit those alleles with a probability of 100%.
For example: if the male parent is BB & the female is also BB, the offspring will
definitely have BB, or brown eyes.

Natural Selection- Description

As species evolve & adapt to suit their environments, many species that produce
offspring sexually will produce offspring that have genetic variation, as they inherit traits
from both parents. A mutation may also cause an organism to contain genetic variation
when compared to the other are organisms of the population. These organisms,s that
have genetic variation, may be more adapted & may have a higher chance of surviving
an evolving environment ocmpared to teh other members of the population. As the
population passes away, the organisms that are not varied may have a lower chance of
survival compared to the organisms with the genetic variation. Hence, the population
dies as some of the offspring may be unable to reproduce as it isn’t as adapted to the
environment. But, the organism with genetic variation will reproduce many new
offsprings, as some organisms produce many offspring at a time, and as all these
organisms inherit the genetic variation, the offspring have a better chance of surviving
compared to the older population. Also, organisms in a species often face competition
for resources. The organism that has genetic variation may have a higher chance of
collecting resources, cuaisng the population with no variation to pass away. Hence,
organisms that are better adapted to the environment have a greater chance of
surviving longer and reproducing,

Selective Breeding- Description

Selective Breeding is the process of artificially selecting organisms with favorable traits
or features & having it produce offspring with organism that has the same or a different
favorable trait so that the offspring contains variation & a higher amount or quality f the
favorable trait in its genotype. Having an organism reproduce with another organism
with favorable traits is often known as cross-breeding. Soon, when the offspring is ready
to reproduce humans select another organism with the same favorable trait & have the
two organisms produce an offspring. This process occurs each generation until a new
species is created with mass amounts of the favorable trait. As only the organism with
favorable traits reproduces, there is a chance of the other organisms dying out or
passing away without reproducing.

Selective Breeding in reference to crop plants & domesticated animals

Animals are often the crux of selective breeding. Umans tend to use domesticated
animals to conduct teh process of selective breeding or domestiate wild animals using
selective breeding. Out of a population of wild oxen, the most tranquil organisms would
be selected and made o produce with another organism of the same species, that is
calm too. Hence, teh offspring will likely not be extremely wild & will be brought into
calmer environments, so that the offspring is not influenced by wild environments. Soon,
the offspring will reproduce too, with a calm member of its species & the cross-breeding
continues until the offspring is extremely calm and domestically usable. The same may
occur in reference to crops too, as farmers may take the seeds of the plant with the
most product & plant that seed so that this plant produces quality products too. Also,
sometimes farmers cut off trimmings from high-producing plants & plant in a different
location so that the plant grows & produces fruit more abundantly, compared to how
much it produces in a single tree. Often plants that produce smallamount of produce are
often left alone & not always replanted. .

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PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. What is a chromosome? What is it made up of?

A chromosome is a x-shaped, thread-like structure in the nucleus of an
anial or plant cell, that is made up of a single molecule of DNA &
proteins known as histones that wrap around the DNA & structurally
support the chromosome. A human has 46 chromosomes in each cell,
it is inherited from both the parents in a pair, 23 from the male parent &
23 from the female parent. Only gametes have 23 chromosomes as
they are sex cells and will soon form a zygote when fertilisedm by
comboning with the other organism’s 23 gametes. In females gametes
are the ovaries & in males it’s the sperm cell. Females have two pairs of
the chromosome X, of which only one is active, & males have the
chromosome XY, out of which the both are active. When the two
 chromsomes meet, it is the male’s chromosomes that decids the
gender of the child as XX id female & XY is male, & a female can only
contribute an X chromosome. Most chromsomes are homologous,
whoc means they are identical in shape.

2. What are genes?

Genes are sections od the DNA that create proteins that code for
specific genotypes & phenotypes.

3. What are Alleles?

Allelles are two forms of a gene that code for a specific phenotype. One
allelle is inherited from the male parent & the second from the female
parent. Allelles may be ressesive or dominant. Domiant allelles are the
ones that tend to express themselves in he phenotypes as they are
stronger compared to the ressseive/ weaker allelles. But, if two
homozygous reccesive parents produce an offspring , which means
there are no chances of a dominating allelle, the recessive allelle
expresses itself in the phenotype. Otherwise, it is weak and present in
the genotype of an organism, but not in th phenotype.

4. What is the difference between bio-diversity & variation?

Variation is the difference between individuals or orgnisms in a species
while bio-diversity is the difference (or diversity) between all the
species. This is different as variation refers to the difference between
the population/ organisms that is a part of a ceratin species, while
biodiversity refers to the difference between various species or tyes of
organisms.