Principles of Inheritance and Variation
Madhya Pradesh Board · Class 12 · Biology
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Mendel's Laws of Inheritance
- Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) is called the 'Father of Genetics' for his pioneering work on garden pea (Pisum sativum)
- Mendel studied 7 contrasting traits in pea plants over 7 years (1856-1863)
- He used true-breeding lines (plants showing stable trait inheritance for several generations)
Deviations from Mendelian Inheritance
- Not all genes show complete dominance as observed by Mendel
- Incomplete dominance: F1 shows intermediate phenotype (e.g., red × white = pink flowers in snapdragon)
- Co-dominance: Both alleles express simultaneously (e.g., ABO blood groups)
Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance
- Proposed by Walter Sutton and Theodore Boveri in 1902
- Established that genes are located on chromosomes
- Chromosome behavior during meiosis parallels gene behavior during inheritance
Sex Determination
- Sex chromosomes determine gender; autosomes are non-sex chromosomes
- XY system: Males are XY (heterogametic), females are XX (homogametic) - found in humans, Drosophila
- ZW system: Females are ZW (heterogametic), males are ZZ (homogametic) - found in birds
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