AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance

Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

Name_______________________ Period___________

Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance

Concept 15.1 Mendelian inheritance has its physical basis in the behavior of chromosomes

1. What is the chromosome theory of inheritance?

According to the chromosome theory of inheritance, Mendelian genes have specific loci (positions) along
chromosomes, and it is the chromosomes that undergo segregation and independent assortment, accounting for
inheritance patterns.
2. Explain the law of segregation. Use two different colored pencils to illustrate the segregation of
alleles. You may want to consult Figure 15.2 in your text, and model your sketches on this.
The law of segregation states that two alleles for each gene separate during gamete formation.

F1 Parent Cell
this does not exist
in the book
r
r R R

Haploid Gametes

3. Explain the law of independent assortment. To demonstrate that you understand this concept,
consider a cell with two pairs of chromosomes. Sketch the two different ways these
chromosomes might be arranged during metaphase I.

The law of independent assortment states that alleles of genes on nonhomologous chromosomes assort independently during gamete formation.

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 AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

4. Thomas Hunt Morgan selected Drosophila melanogaster as his experimental organism. List at
least three reasons the fruit fly is an excellent subject for genetic studies.
A single mating would produce hundreds of organisms, a new generation could be bred every two weeks, and the fruit fly only
has four pairs of chromosomes that are easily distinguishable with a light microscope.

5. The notation for wild type and mutant traits follows some accepted conventions. Notate the
following genotypes for a female fruit fly:

a) a fly homozygous for red eyes

b) a fly heterozygous for red eyes

c) a fly homozygous for white eyes

6. When Thomas Hunt Morgan mated a white-eyed male fly with a red-eyed female, he came to
the startling conclusion that the trait for eye color was located on the chromosome that
determines sex. Show this cross. Begin with the parental generation, and go through the F2.

parental generation A cross between a white eyed male and a red eyed female

F1 generation All offspring had red eyes, therefore wild allele was dominant

F2 generation This generation showed the ration of 3:1 red eyed to white eyed flies, with no white eyed females,
therefore eye color is linked to sex chromosomes

7. What unusual result suggested that the eye-color trait is located on the X chromosome?
The white-eye trait only appeared in the male offspring of the F1 generation

Concept 15.2 Sex-linked genes exhibit unique patterns of inheritance

8. There are several variations on the way sex is determined in different species. Complete Figure
15.6 (on the next page) to explain four different methods of sex determination.
In mammals, the sex of an offspring depends on whether the sperm cell contains an X chromosome or a Y chromosome. In the X-0 system, found in grasshoppers, there
is only one type of sex chromosome, the X. . In the Z-W system, found in birds, the sex chromosome is in the egg. . In the haplo-diploid system found in bees, there are
no sex chromosomes
9. What is the SRY gene? Where is it found, and what does it do?
SRY, which stands for sex-determining region of Y, is a gene on the Y chromosome required for the development of testes. In
the absence of SRY, the gonads develop into ovaries.

10. What is the definition of a sex-linked gene?

A sex-linked gene is located on either sex chromosome. The Y chromosome is passed along virtually intact from father to son.
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 AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

11. In humans, how has that term been historically modified?

In humans, there are very few Y-linked genes, so most sex-linked genes are on the X chromosome, called X-linked
genes.
12. Name and describe three human sex-linked disorders.
Color blindness is a mild disorder almost always inherited as an X-linked trait. Duchenne muscular dystrophy, caused by an absence of the
key muscle protein dystrophin at a specific locus on the X chromosome, is characterized by a progressive weakening of the muscles and
loss of coordination. Hemophilia is an X-linked recessive disorder defined by the absence of one or more of the proteins required for blood
clotting.

13. Try the following problem (Figure 15.7b in your text). A female who carries an allele for
colorblindness, but who is not color-blind, mates with a male who has normal color vision.
What is the probability that they will have a son who is color-blind? A Punnett square to use for
this problem is shown below.
If a carrier mates with a male who has normal color vision, there is a 50% chance that each daughter will be a carrier like her mother
and a 50% chance that each son will have the disorder.

haploid
diploid

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 AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

14. What is a Barr body? Why do human females show a Barr body in their cells?
The inactive X in each cell of a female condenses into a compact object called a Barr body, which lies along the inside of the
nuclear envelope. Most of the genes of the X chromosome that forms the Barr body are not expressed. In the ovaries, Barr-body
chromosomes are reactivated in the cells that give rise to eggs, so every female gamete has an active X.

15. X inactivation maintains the proper gene dosage How is the X chromosome inactivated?
The selection of which X chromosome will form the Barr body occurs randomly and independently in each embryonic cell present at the
time of X inactivation. As a consequence, females consist of a mosaic of two types of cells: those with the active X derived from the father
and those with the active X derived from the mother. After an X chromosome is inactivated in a particular cell, all mitotic descendants of
that cell have the same inactive X. Thus, if a female is heterozygous for a sex-linked trait, about half her cells will express one allele, while
the others will express the alternative allele.

16. Why can you say that all calico cats are females?
The tortoiseshell gene is on the X chromosome, and the tortoiseshell phenotype requires the presence of two different alleles, one for
orange and one for black fur. Normally, only females can have both alleles, because only they have two X chromosomes.

Concept 15.3 Linked genes tend to be inherited together because they are located near each other on
the same chromosome

17. What are linked genes? Do linked genes sort independently?

Linked genes are located near each other on the same chromosome and tend to be inherited together in genetic crosses. These genes do
not sort independently, but rather are transmitted as a unit.

18. If two genes are linked on the same chromosome, we call this combination the parental
combination. These genes will be transmitted as a unit and will not sort independently.
However, during meiosis, crossing over occurs between homologous chromosomes, and the
linked genes can become “unlinked.” In general, the farther two genes are from each other
along the chromosome, the more often they will come “unlinked.” Genetic recombination is the
process during which linked genes become unlinked. What do geneticists call the offspring that
show these new combinations?

Geneticists call the offspring that show these new combinations recombinant types, or recombinants for short.

19. Review meiosis. When does crossing over occur?

Crossing over occurs during prophase I.

20. Alfred H. Sturtevant, a student of Thomas Hunt Morgan, used assumptions from observations
of crossovers to map genes. What is a linkage map?
Alfred H. Sturtevant, a student of Thomas Hunt Morgan, used assumptions from observations of crossovers to map genes. A
linkage map is a genetic map based on recombination frequencies (the percentages of recombinant offspring).

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 AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

21. What is a map unit?

A map unit is a unit of measurement of the distance between genes. One map unit is equivalent to a 1% recombination
frequency.
22. Use the figure below, which is from Figure 15.10. It shows the results of a cross between a fruit
fly that is heterozygous for gray body with normal wings, and a fruit fly that has a black body
with vestigial wings. Because these genes are linked, the results are not what might have been
predicted. Show the phenotypes and number of each type of offspring. Indicate which offspring
are the recombinants and which are the parental type. Finally, calculate the map distance
between the two genes. Show all your work here.

Of the total 2,300 offspring, 391 are recombinants because they do not show the parental phenotypes. Thus, the frequency of
recombination is 17%, and the two genes are 17 map units apart.

Concept 15.4 Alterations of chromosome number or structure cause some genetic disorders
23. What occurs in nondisjunction?
Nondisjunction is an error in meiosis or mitosis in which the members of a pair of homologous chromosomes do not
move apart properly during meiosis I or a pair of sister chromatids fail to separate during meiosis II.
24. Explain each of the following terms:
aneuploidy a chromosomal aberration in which the amount of chromosomes is abnormally excessive or deficient

monosomy The condition of having a diploid chromosome complement in which one (usually the X chromosome)
lacks its homologous partner
trisomy diploid cells that have triplicates of a particular chromosome instead of the normal duplicate.

polyploidy an organism possesses more than two complete chromosome sets in all somatic cells; the specific terms
triploidy (3n) and tetraploidy (4n) indicate three or four chromosomal sets, respectively

25. Which of these events results in Down syndrome? What are four characteristics of Down
syndrome?
An aneuploid condition, Down syndrome is usually the result of an extra chromosome 21, so that each body cell has a total of 47
chromosomes. Because the cells are trisomic for chromosome 21, Down syndrome is often called trisomy 21. Down syndrome includes
characteristic facial features, short stature, correctable heart defects, and developmental delays. Almost all males and about half of females
with Down syndrome are sexually underdeveloped and sterile.z

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AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

26. For each of the following human aneuploidies, give the sex of the individual as well as any
physical manifestation of the syndrome.

Sex Physical Traits

XXY male male sex organs, testes abnormally small; sterile; some breast enlargement and other female body
characteristics.
XXX female no unusual physical features other than being slightly taller than average; at risk for
learning disabilities; fertile
XO female phenotypically female; sterile because sex organs do not mature; develop secondary sex characteristics
when provided with estrogen replacement therapy
XYY male normal sexual development; tend to be somewhat taller than average

27. Chromosome structure can be altered in several ways. Label each type of alteration shown in
this figure, and explain what occurs.

deletion removes a chromosomal segment

duplication repeats a chromosomal segment

inversion reverses a segment within a chromosome

translocation moves a segment from one

chromosome to a
nonhomologous chromosome

Concept 15.5 Some inheritance patterns are exceptions to the standard chromosome theory

28. A number of genes will cause a variation in phenotype, depending on whether the gene came
from the father or the mother. This variation occurs because of genomic imprinting. Explain
genomic imprinting.
It's a phenomenon occurring during gamete formation that silences a particular allele of certain genes

29. Although you inherited one chromosome of each pair from your mother and your father, you
have inherited a group of genes from your mother only. What genes are these?
Maternal inheritance is the rule for mitochondrial genes in most animals and plants, because almost all the mitochondria
passed on to a zygote come from the cytoplasm of the egg

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AP Biology Reading Guide Chapter 15: The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Fred and Theresa Holtzclaw

30. You should have identified mitochondrial DNA as the correct response to question 28 above.
What other organelle has its own genes? These are extranuclear genes.
Mitochondria contain small circular DNA molecules that carry a number of genes, as do chloroplasts and other plastids in
plants.

Testing Your Knowledge: Genetics Problems (page 303)

This chapter does not have a Self-Quiz, but rather asks you to do a series of problems. One way to
determine your understanding of genetics is to work many genetic problems. Complete the following
questions from the problems at the end of the chapter.

Work neatly, and show all work. As you know, you can check your solutions in your text.

Questions 1–5, 7–10, 13

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