Complex Inheritance (Non-Mendelian) Essential Questions: What are some of the cases in which Mendel’s rules do not apply? What is different with these patterns of inheritance compared to Mendelian genetics? How do you use Punnett Squares to predict these unique outcomes?

Revisions to Mendel Some alleles are neither dominant nor recessive, and many traits are controlled by multiple alleles or multiple genes. So special rules must be used for these cases: –Incomplete dominance –Codominance –Multiple Alleles –Lethal Alleles –Polygenic Traits Also sex-linked inheritance – we’ll get to that a bit later!

Incomplete Dominance Neither allele is dominant. The heterozygous phenotype is somewhere in between the two homozygous phenotypes. Example: Four o’clock flowers

Practice : Your Turn! In Australia there is a creature known as wild dogs or dingoes. It comes in three colors, black, grey, and white. This trait is controlled by a single gene with incomplete dominance. A homozygous (BB) individual is black, a homozygous (bb) individual is white, and a heterozygous (Bb) individual is grey. What would be the genotypes and phenotypes of the offspring if a black dingo were crossed with a white dingo?genotypes phenotypes

Check your work BB bBb b Genotypes: 100% or 4/4 Bb Phenotypes:100% Grey dingo pups.

Codominance Both alleles are dominant. Both alleles appear in the phenotype separately. Each allele produces both types of protein, so they both appear. Example: A black chicken mating with a white chicken will create an erminette chicken (also known as checkerboard).

Practice : Your Turn! A white cow (WW) mates with a brown cow (RR) to create a roan calf (RW). This trait is controlled by a single gene with codominance. Suppose this roan calf grows up to mate with another roan cow. What would be the genotypes and phenotypes of the offspring?genotypes phenotypes

Check your work RW RRRRW W WW Genotypes:¼ RR or 25% RR 2/4 RW or 50% RW ¼ WW or 25% WW Phenotypes:¼ or 25% Brown calves ½ or 50% Roan calves ¼ or 25% White calves

Multiple Alleles In a population, there might be more than 2 alleles for one single gene. Any individual cannot have more than 2 alleles, even if many more exist in their gene pool. –One from the mother –One from the father Example: Laborador coat color, mouse coat color, human blood types

Blood Typing Human blood works of a system of Codominance with the AB blood type and Multiple Alleles due to three alleles, A, B and O. Charles Drew is famous for his blood preservation methods. We’ll talk more about blood later!

Blood Typing Phenotypes and Genotypes

Practice : Your Turn! A man is concerned about if he is the father of a child. He has blood type B and the mother has blood type O. The child’s blood type is A. Is he the father of this child?

Check your work IBIB IBIB iIBiIBiIBiIBi iIBiIBiIBiIBi IBIB i iIBiIBiii iIBiIBi Since the mother is O, she is recessive and has the genotype of ii. Since the father is B, he could be homozygous (I B I B ) or heterzygous (I B i) so you should complete two separate punnett squares for each possibility. Punnett #1: All children will have B blood type Punnett #2: ½ children can have B blood type, ½ can have O blood type. Result? If the child’s blood type is A, then he is not the father. 

Lethal Alleles This defies Mendel’s laws of 3:1 because one of the Genotypes results in a lethal (deadly) Phenotype. Also called Pseudodominance. Example: Sickle Cell Anemia – the offspring that gets C 1 C 1 will die immediately from the blood disorder. –How do lethal alleles still persist in the population if those with lethal alleles die before birth!? –What disease is susceptible to sickle cell?

Polygenic Traits Instead of a trait being controlled by a single pair of homologous chromosomes, some traits are controlled by several genes. –Poly = many –Genic = genes You get more a bell shaped curve of diversity Examples: Skin color, hair color, etc… Example: AaBBCcddEe