BI SC 002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Phenotype, Chromosome, Punnett Square
Document Summary
Tall father + short mother = average-sized kids false. Our knowledge of how genetics work is new. But humans have been manipulating inherited traits for hundred of years. Farmers select for the best traits in crops and animals: selective breeding. Mendel noticed patterns of different inherited traits in pea plants. Some traits were seen more than others. Pea plants are easy to grow, develop quickly and produce many offspring (in peapods) Have alternative traits that are easy to spot. F1 generation: all offspring have the tall characteristic. F2 generation: most of the offspring tall, but short characteristic reappears. Mendel proposed ideas that laid the foundations for the science of genetics. Traits are passed from parents to offspring. Each organism has 2 copies of the trait. Today we know these traits to be genes. Small sections of dna within our genomes that code for proteins. Contain the instructions for individual characteristics: ex: hair color/eye color.
