11.

2- Complex Patterns of
Inheritance
Complex inheritance of traits
does NOT follow inheritance
patterns described by Mendel.
For Mendelian traits, heterozygous
(Tt) shows the dominant phenotype.!
!
For incomplete dominance,
the heterozygous phenotype is
an in-between.!

!
In codominance, both the
alleles are expressed in
heterozygous individuals.!

!
Examples:
Cows:
RR= Red
WW= White
RW= Roan

Examples:
Horses:
GG= Grey
WW= White
GW= Apaloosa
Chickens:
BB= Black
WW= White
BW= Speckled
Sickle-cell disease
•  Changes in hemoglobin make
red blood cells sickle shaped.!
•  Heterozygous people have both
normal and sickle-shaped cells.!
Sickle-cell disease and malaria
The sickle-shaped blood cells block
circulation cutting off oxygen supply,
which is BAD…!
BUT...!
The sickle-shaped red blood cells
don’t carry malaria, which is GOOD.!
Those who are heterozygous
have resistance to malaria
without oxygen loss from the
disease.!
multiple alleles- inheritance
determined by more than
two alleles !
Multiple alleles increase the
number of genotypes and
phenotypes.!
Blood groups in humans
Human blood has three forms of alleles, !
IA is blood type A (codominant)!
IB is blood type B (codominant)!
i is blood type O (recessive)!

Possible blood types: A, AB, B, O!

Multiple alleles can have a
hierarchy of dominance.
Coat color of rabbits
four alleles code for rabbit color: !
C- Full color (black)!
cch- not full color (grey)!
ch- Himalayan !
c- albino!

The hierarchy of dominance is C > cch > ch > c

Epistasis is when one
allele hides the effects of
another allele.!

!
Ex: Labrador retrievers!
• Dominant allele E determines
whether the coat will have dark
pigment.!
• Allele B determines how dark the
coat will be.!
• When a dog has recessive ee
alleles, the coat will be yellow,
because the e allele masks the
effects of the B allele.!
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education Complex Patterns of Inheritance!
Sex Determination
sex chromosomes, determine an
individual’s gender. !
• XX: female!
• XY: male!
!
The other 22 pairs of chromosomes
are called autosomes.!
Dosage Compensation
• The X chromosome has
genes needed for both
females and males.!
• The Y chromosome mainly
has genes for male
characteristics.
!
dosage compensation or !
x-inactivation- !
in females, one X chromosome
turns off in each cell
The X that stops working in
each cell is random.!
!

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

Barr bodies are inactivated X
chromosomes. !
-They can be seen as dark !
masses in the nucleus.!

!
!
sex-linked traits- are
controlled by genes located
on the X chromosome.!
Because males have only one X,
they are more affected by
recessive X-linked traits.
!
Red-green color blindness
•  Recessive, X-linked trait!
•  Mothers are carriers, but
females rarely have the disease.
Hemophilia
•  Recessive, X-linked trait that
causes delayed clotting of
blood!
!

!
Polygenic Traits
Polygenic traits have more
than one pair of genes.!
•  Include such traits as skin color,
height, and eye color in humans!

!
Environmental Influences
Sunlight and water
•  Without enough sunlight,
most plants will not produce
flowers.!
•  Without enough water plants
will drop their leaves.!
Temperature
•  Some organisms experience
phenotypic changes caused by
temperature.!

!
!

!
Twin Studies help scientists separate
genetic factors from environmental
factors!
•  Traits that appear more often in
identical twins are more likely
controlled by heredity and genes.!
•  Traits that appear the same in
identical and fraternal twins are more
likely controlled by environment.!
11.2 Homework