Non Mendelian Inheritance

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What is Non-Mendelian Inheritance?

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Non-Mendelian inheritance refers to patterns of inheritance that do not follow Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment. It includes various inheritance patterns such as incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, and polygenic inheritance.

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What is complete dominance?

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Complete dominance occurs when one allele completely masks the effect of another allele in a heterozygous genotype. For example, in pea plants, the allele for purple flowers is completely dominant over the allele for white flowers.

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What is incomplete dominance?

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Incomplete dominance is a form of inheritance where the phenotype of a heterozygote is intermediate between the phenotypes of the two homozygotes. For example, in snapdragon flowers, crossing red and white flowers results in pink flowers.

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What is codominance?

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Codominance occurs when both alleles in a heterozygote are fully expressed, resulting in a phenotype that shows both traits. An example is the AB blood type, where both A and B alleles are expressed.

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What are multiple alleles?

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Multiple alleles refer to the presence of more than two alleles for a genetic trait within a population. An example is the ABO blood group system, which has three alleles: A, B, and O.

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What is polygenic inheritance?

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Polygenic inheritance is a pattern of inheritance where multiple genes influence a single trait, resulting in a continuous range of phenotypes. An example is human height, which is determined by several genes.

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What is a genotype?

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A genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism, represented by the alleles it possesses for a particular trait. For example, the genotype for a person with type A blood could be AA or AO.

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What is a phenotype?

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A phenotype is the observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, determined by its genotype and environmental influences. For example, the phenotype for flower color can be red, white, or pink.

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What is the difference between dominant and recessive alleles?

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Dominant alleles are expressed in the phenotype even when only one copy is present, while recessive alleles are only expressed when two copies are present. For example, in pea plants, the allele for yellow seeds is dominant over the allele for green seeds.

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What is a Punnett square?

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A Punnett square is a diagram used to predict the genotypes and phenotypes of offspring from a genetic cross. It helps visualize the possible combinations of alleles from the parents.