MENDEL’S FINDINGS

1. Mendel’s Law of Dominance and Recessive

 Each of the f1 generation plant shows inheritance of Y allele from one parent and
a G allele from the other. When the f1 plants breed, each has equal chance of passing
on either Y or G allele to each offspring.

In all the seven traits that Mendel examined, one form appeared dominant over the other
i.e., it marked the presence of the other allele, e.g.

BASIC TERMS USED IN INHERITANCE STUDIES

· Allele: It is an alternative form of a gene which are located on same position (loci) on
the homologous chromosome. Term allele was coined by Bateson.

· Homozygous: A zygote is formed by fusion of two gametes having identical factors is

called homozygote and organism developed from this zygote is called homozygous.

Ex. TT, RR, tt.

· Heterozygous: A zygote is formed by fusion of two different types of gamete carrying

different factors is called heterozygote (Tt, Rr) and individual developed from such
zygote is called heterozygous.

· Hemizygous: If individual contains only one gene of a pair then individual is said to
be hemizygous. Male individual is always hemizygous for sex linked gene.

· Phenotype: It is the external and morphological appearances of an organism for a

particular character.

· Genotype: It is the genetic constitution or genetic make-up of an organism for a

particular character.

· Back cross: A back cross is a cross in which F1 individuals are crossed with any of
their parents.
· Test cross: When F1 progeny is crossed with recessive parent then it is called test
cross.

· Monohybrid test cross: The progeny obtained from the monohybrid test cross are in
equal proportion, means 50% is dominant phenotypes and 50% is recessive phenotypes.

It can be represented in symbolic forms as follows.

F1 progeny (hybrid) × Recessive parent

Monohybrid test cross ratio =1:1

· Dihybrid test cross: The progeny is obtained from dihybrid test cross are of four
types and each of them is 25%.

GENES

Genes are responsible for the characteristics features (or traits) of organism-plant or
animals. The characteristics or traits of parents are transmitted to their progeny (off springs)
through geneses present on their chromosomes during the process of sexual reproduction.

 Genes are arranged linearly along long chains of DNA sequence, called
chromosomes. The DNA of the chromosome is associated with proteins that
organise, compact and control the access to the DNA, forming a material called
chromatin. In eukaryotes, chromatin is composed of nucleosomes - segments of
DNA wound around histone protein. The full set of hereditary material in an
organism i.e., the combined DNA sequences of all chromosomes is called genome.

Lethal Gene

 Gene which causes death of individual in early stage when it comes in homozygous
condition is called lethal gene.
 It may be dominant or recessive both, but mostly recessive for lethality. Lethal gene
was discovered by L. Cuenot in coat colour of mice.

SEX DETERMINATION

 Sex determination is a biological system that determines the development of sexual

characters in an organism. Most sexual organisms have two sexes: Males and
females.
 In a human, the sexual chromosomes complement is 46, 44 of which are autosomes
while 2 distinct chromosomes are the sex chromosomes, which determine the sex
of an organism and various sex-linked characteristics.
 In humans, sex is predetermined in the sperm gamete. The egg gamete mother cell
is said to be homogametic because all its cells possess the XX sex chromosomes,
sperm gametes are said to be heterogametic because around half of them contain
 the X-chromosome and others possess the Y-chromosome to compliment the first
X-chromosome.

Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA)

 Deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) carries the genetic information. It is a constitute

of chromosome.
 Structure of DNA was worked out by X-ray diffraction studies. A double helix
model by DNA was proposed by Watson and Crick in 1953. They suggested that:

(i) Each DNA molecule consists of two polynucleotide chains.

(ii) The chains are helically coiled around a common axis.

(iii) DNA molecule has a diameter of 20 A are complete turn of helix is 3.4 A. So there are
10 bases per turn of helix.

(v) Each DNA chain is complementary chain to second chain.

 Deoxyribose and a nitrogeneous base together form a nucleoside. A nucleoside and

a phosphate together form a nucleotide.

Nucleoside = Deoxyribose + Nitrogenous base

Nucleotide = Deoxyribose + Nitrogenous base + Phosphate

 Deoxyribose is pentose sugar with five carbon atoms, four of the given carbon
atoms plus a single atom of oxygen for a five numbered ring.

APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

BT COTTON

Bt means Bacillus thuringiensis. It is a gram positive dwelling bacterium. It produces

crystal [Cry] protein. This Cry protein is toxic to larvae of certain insects. Each Cry protein
is toxic to a different group of insects. The gene encoding cry protein is called cry gene.
This Cry protein is isolated and transferred into several crops.

A crop expressing a cry gene is usually resistant to the group of insects for which the
concerned Cry protein is toxic. There are a number of them, for example, the proteins
encoded by the genes cry IAc and cry lAb control the cotton bollworms, that of cry IAb
controls corn borer. Some strains of Bacillus thuringiensis produce proteins that kill
certain insects such as lepidopterans (tobacco budworm, armyworm), coleopterans
(beetles) and dipterans (flies, mosquitoes). B. thuringiensis forms protein crystals during
a particular phase of their growth. These crystals contain a toxic insecticidal protein. The
Bt toxin protein exist as inactive protoxins but once an insect ingest the inactive toxin, it
is converted into an active form of toxin due to the alkaline pH of the gut which solubilise
the crystals. The activated toxin binds to the surface of midgut epithelial cells and create
pores that cause cell swelling and lysis and eventually cause death of the insect.

Problems related to GM foods are

 The transgene product may toxicity and or produce allergies.

 The enzyme produced by the antibiotic resistance gene could cause allergies, since
it is a foreign protein.
 The bacteria present in the alimentary canal of the humans could take up the
antibiotic resistance gene that is present in the GM food.

Application of Biotechnology in Medicine

 The rDNA technology has been used in the production of safe and more effective
therapeutic drugs.
 The recombinant therapeutics do not induce unwanted immunological responses
that are commonly observed with similar products isolated from non-human
sources.

Genetically engineered insulin (humulin)

 Human insulin consists of two short polypeptide chains: chain A and chain B,
linked by disulphide bridges.
 Insulin is secreted as prohormone which has to be processed before it becomes a
mature and functional hormone.

Transgenic Animals

 Transgenic animals are those animals that have had their DNA manipulated to
possess and express a foreign gene.
o Transgenic animals are used in the following ways :
(i) Transgenic animals can be specifically designed to allow the study of how genes are
regulated and how they affect the normal functions of the body and its development, e.g.,
Information is obtained about the biological role of insulin like growth factor.

(ii) Transgenic animals are designed to increase our understanding of how genes contribute
to the development of diseases; they are made to serve as models for human diseases.

(iii) Transgenic mice are being developed for use in testing the safety of vaccines, (e.g.
polio vaccine). (iv) Transgenic animals with more sensitivity to toxic substances are being
developed to test the toxicity of drugs.

Transgenic Plants

Transgenic Plants (of some species,) are easier to produce because plants have a lot
oftotipotent tissue (meristem) that can be grown in culture and then induced to develop into
a whole plant. One of the most common methods utilizes a natural gene transfer system
called the Ti-plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens which transfers a piece of DNA called
T-DNA into the genome of infected plants.

Table: Transgenic plants

Transgenic plants Useful application

Bt Cotton Pest resistance, herbicide tolerance
and high yield. It is resistant to boll
worm infestation.
Flavr Savr Tomato Increased shelf-life (delayed ripening)
and better nutrient quality.
Golden rice Vitamin A-rich
Potato Higher protein content
Corn, Brinjal Insect resistance
Soyabeen, Maize Herbicide resistance

Ethical Issues

 Genetic modification of organisms can have unpredictable/undesirable effects

when such organisms are introduced into the ecosystem.
 The modification and use of such organisms for public services has also resulted
in problems with the granting of patents.
 One such organisation is the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC).
Bio piracy

 Basmati rice grown in India is distinct for its unique flavour and aroma, but an
American company got patent rights on Basmati through the US patent and
trademark office; the new variety of Basmati has been developed by this company
by crossing an Indian variety with the semi-dwarf varieties.
 Now some nations are developing laws to prevent such unauthorised exploitation
of their bio resources and traditional knowledge.
o Some such developed countries use the bio resources and traditional
knowledge of the other countries without proper authorisation and/or
compensation to the countries concerned (Bio piracy)