Pedigrees

Front

What is a pedigree?

Back

A pedigree is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance of phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors.

Front

What does it mean if an allele is dominant?

Back

A dominant allele is one that expresses its trait even when only one copy is present in the genotype.

Front

What does it mean if an allele is recessive?

Back

A recessive allele is one that only expresses its trait when two copies are present in the genotype.

Front

What is the genotype of an individual with curly hair if curly hair is dominant?

Back

The genotype could be either homozygous dominant (CC) or heterozygous (Cc).

Front

How many alleles does a child inherit from each parent?

Back

A child inherits one allele from each parent for a total of two alleles for each trait.

Front

What does it mean for a trait to 'skip' a generation in a pedigree?

Back

It means that the trait may not appear in every generation, often indicating that it is recessive.

Front

What is the purpose of using a pedigree?

Back

Pedigrees are used to track traits and inheritance patterns in families.

Front

What is the significance of shaded shapes in a pedigree?

Back

Shaded shapes typically represent individuals that express the trait being studied.

Front

What is a homozygous genotype?

Back

A homozygous genotype has two identical alleles for a trait, either dominant or recessive.

Front

What is a heterozygous genotype?

Back

A heterozygous genotype has two different alleles for a trait, one dominant and one recessive.