Introduction to Genetics By- Ms. Priya

Genetics: Vocabulary Genetics Trait : A physical characteristic Heredity: The passing of traits from parents to offspring (Children) Genes: Factors in the DNA that control a trait Alleles: Different forms of a gene

Genetics: Vocabulary Trait : Heredity Gene Alleles Dominant Recessive Phenotype Genotype Homozygous Heterozygous Hybrid DNA Chromosomes

Introduction to genetics What is Genetics? Genetics is the branch of science that studies how (traits) characteristics are passed down from one generation to another. Humans have 23 sets of chromosomes in each cell in their body. This chromosome is carrying the gene. Genetics is the study of how genes bring about characteristics (traits) in living things and how those characteristics are passed on (inherited).

Introduction to genetics

Gregor Mendel: The Father of Genetics Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk. Mendel developed the science of genetics. Genes are passed on from parent to child and are an important part of that decides looks and behavior. Traits like a person's height, eye and hair color, and intelligence are all examples of those things that are determined by a person's genes. The code is found on a double strand that is known as DNA.

Gregor Mendel When reproducing, each parent can pass only one gene to their offspring, from each gene pair. This means that the offspring will inherit one gene from each parent, making a new gene pair.

Gregor Mendel Mendel discovered that some genes are dominant, or stronger than other genes. For example: When there are two different kinds of genes in a plant (a tall and a short gene) the dominant gene will determine how the plant will grow. In pea plants, the tall gene is dominant, while the short gene is recessive. Recessive is a big word that means “not dominant.” ( not showing up)

Gregor Mendel Gregor Mendel experimented with pea plants in the mid-1800's. He kept track of a number of traits over several generations, including: Color of the Seeds Plant Height Whether the Pod was Smooth or Pinched Shape of the Seeds He noticed that certain plants produced new plants that were similar to the parents. For example, short "parent" plants produced more short plants, and tall "parent" plants have tall offspring. When he bred plants with different traits, he found patterns in the appearance of the new plants. He concluded that some genes are dominant and other ones are recessive. Dominant genes hide other genes that are present, and the trait corresponding to that gene will appear. Traits represented by recessive genes will only appear when the dominant gene is not present.

Gregor Mendel In Mendel's experiment he used pea plant to prove about genetics because of two main reasons:  Pea plants sex pollinate  Reproduce very fast