Dominance

Relationships

Edwin L. Solilap
University of
Southeastern Philippines
 Dominance Relationships
 Mendel’s work demonstrated complete
dominance relationship between two
different alleles for each gene pair.
 As more experiments were conducted,
some phenotypes and ratios could not be
explained on the basis of complete
dominance.
 These exceptions did not, in any way,
disprove Mendel’s principles rather, they
extended and developed them.
1. Incomplete dominance or
no dominance
 Dominance is absent
 The progeny does not resemble any of its
parents.
 The F1’s are intermediate between the
two parents.
 Example: flower color in Mirabilis
jalapa (four o’clock plant)
 RR(red) x rr(white) = F1: Rr(pink)
 F2: 1RR(red); 2Rr(pink): 1rr(white)
2. Overdominance
 Theheterozygote (F1) exceeds the
phenotypic measurements of the
homozygous parents.

 Higher amount of flourescent pigments

(sepiapteridine and himmelblaus) in
Drosophila of heterozygote than those of
the parents white and wild type
3. Co-dominance
 Each allele of a gene is associated with
specific substance
 Blood Type M-N in man
 Blood Type M : genotype MM
agglutinugen with anti-N agglutinin
 Blood Type N: genotype agglutinogen N
with anti-M agglutinin
 Blood Type MN: Genotype
MN:agglutinogen M;N
Multiple Alleles
 Generally assumed that a gene pair has
only two alleles –homologous
chromosomes - pairs of chromosomes
in a diploid organism
 More than two alleles exist in a gene –
system of multiple alleles
 Alleles act within the same phenotypic
range of each other - called isoalleles –
abnormal character, mutant isoalleles,
wild type – normal mutant isoalleles
 Multiple alleles
Blood Genotype Blood Contains Reaction of
Type Cellular Serum Red Blood
Agglutinogen Agglutinin Cells with
a/
Anti-A Anti-B
A AAA A Anti-B + -
B BBB B Anti-A - +
AB AB A;B None + +
O ii None Anti-A and - -
Anti-B
a = agglutination
Lethal genes

 Cause death of an organism

 Someexert their effect early in life –

embryonic stage

 Exist as recessive lethal or dominant lethal

Lethal gene
 Genes whose phenotypic effects are
ordinarily recessive have no observable
phenotypic effect in the heterozygote but
produce noticeable and eventually lethal
change in the homoxygous recessive

 Example: infantile amaurotic idiocy in

humans
Recessive lethals
 Lethalgenes in homozygous recessive
condition

 Heavy freckling in humans caused by the

gene for Xeroderma pigmentosum –
dominant pgenotypic effect – becomes
lethal when the gene is homozygous
recessive
Dominant lethals
 Genes whose lethal effects occurs in
heterozygous individuals

 Heterozygote of the gene for epiloia in

humans resulting to abnormal skin growths,
severe mental defects and multiple tumors,
causing early deaths
Penetrance of lethal genes
 Vary recessive and dominant genes

 Some genes have high degree of penetrance and

expression , allowing little or no survival among
affected genotypes beyond embryonic stage

 Semi-lethals– permit a larger proportion of

affected genotypes to survive
Environmental influence on lethal
genes
Some lethal genes may be influenced
by the environment in the sense that
the organism may be able to survive
under permissive conditions and
cause lethality under restrictive
conditions – it is called conditional
lethals
 Occurrence of lethality by exposure of the organism
to the restrictive condition during specific period of
development(monophasic)
 Lethality because of exposure to the restrictive
condition during any two or more (polyphasic)
developmental stages.
 Possession by lethal-bearing males and females of
different (sexual dimorphic) temperature-sensitive
stages.
 Occurrence of lethality by exposure to restrictive
condition at any stage of development.
Modifier genes
 Genes that change phenotypic effects of the
other genes in a quantitative fashion – through
dilution or enhancement of the effects of the
major genes.
 Suppressors – modifier of mutant genes –
completely suppress the phenotypic expression
of mutant gene
 Modifier genes may be dominant or recessive
Gene interaction`
 Genes interact with one another giving
entirely different phenotypes

 These interactions result in phenotypic

ratios different from those independent
assortment : modified ratios
 1. Novel phenotypes
 Complete dominance at both gene pairs

 Comb shape in poultry

 RR (rose) x rr (single) = F2 :3 R, 1single
 PP (pea) x pp (single) = F2:3P, 1p
 RRpp (rose) x rrPP (pea) = RrPp
(walnut)F2;9Walnut:3Rose:3Pea:1Single
 2. Recessive Epistasis
 There is complete dominance at both gene pairs,
but one gene, when homozygous recessive, hides
or masks the effect of the other.
 Example: mouse caot color:

 Ccaa (black)x ccAA (albino) = CcAa (Agouti)

 F2: 9Agouti:# black:3 albino:1
 3. Dominant epistasis
There is complete dominance at both gene pairs
but one gene when dominant masks the effect of
the other
Example: fruit color in summer squash
Aabb (White) X aaBB (Yellow) = AaBb (White)
9A _B_ white 3 A_bb: 3aaB (yellow):1aabb
green
Dominant white hides the effect of yellow or
green
 4. Complementary genes
 Complete dominance at both gene pairs, but either recessive
homozygote is epistatic to the effects of the other gene
 Pigment production in poultry and almost all birds and
mammals
 Both genes C and D are required for pigment production
 Homozygous recessive for either C and D will produce
white birds
 CCDD (colored) x ccdd (white) = CcDd (colored)
 F2:9C_D_ colored,3C_dd white,3ccD_white,ccdd white
5. Duplicate genes
Complete dominance at both gene pairs but
either gene, when dominant , is epistatic to the
other
Seed capsule of Shepherd’s purse
AABB (triangular) x aabb (ovoid) = AaBb
triagular
F2 : 9A_B_ triangular, 3A_bb triangular,
3aaB_ triangular, 1aabb ovoid

Interaction: dominant allele at either gene

 Pseudoalleles
 In Drosophila, mutation producing a small rough eye
when homozygous
 It was found in the same location as Star, a dominant
characteristic
 But with a large number of progeny of Star x Star-
recessive were classified, a few wild type
recombinants were identified
 These recombinants represented crossover between
the two loci.
 This indicated that Star and Star recessive were two
different mutants closely situated on the
chromosome
 Definition of terms
 Penetrance – proportion of genotypes that show an expected
phenotype
 Expressivity – the degree to which a particular phenotypic
effect is expressed by the individual
 Pleiotropy – a situation in which one gene has multiple
phenotypic effects
 Phenocopy – an environmental mimic o gene action,
environmental influence is sufficiently strong
 Ex. Diabetics dependent on insulin are phenocopies of
normal individuals in the sense that the drug environment
prevents the expression of the genes for diabetes
Environmental Influence on Gene
Expression

 Phenotype= Genotype x Environment

 Genotype – provides the messages and
direction for phenotypic growth and
behavior
 Environmental factors must be provided for
the development and continued existence
External Environment Affecting
Gene Expression
 1.Temperature
 Red color of the flower primerose at
room temp. –white color at temp. over
30 degrees cent.
 2.Light – Ps for growth and development
 Gene sun red in corn – parts exposed to
the sun are red , shaded --green
External Environment Affecting Gene
Expression
 3.Nutrition – certain processses – different
organisms – diffferent amount oif nutrients needed
 4. Maternal Relations beyond fertilization,
interaction between fetus and maternal
environment----- blood group incompatibility
between mother and offspring --- effects on the
survival of the genotypes
 Body relations between parent and progeny
extend
Internal Environment Affecting
Gene Expression
 1. Age - as individual grows older – phenotypic
change occur which allow further genotypic
effects to be expressed – age of onset of
different genetic traits in humans
 Infantile amaurotic idiocy – 4-6 months
 Periodic paralysis – 10 years
 Pattern baldness - 20-30 years
 Diabetes mellitus – 40-60 years old
Internal Environment Affecting Gene
Expression
 2.Sex – sexual phenotypic differences are evident in
the reproductive structures and specialized behavior of
each sex
 2.1. sex – limited traits – appear in one sex and not in
the other
 Milk yield in humans And dairy cattle
 2.2. sex controlled or sex-influenced traits
 Harelip, pattern baldness, gout – occur frequently
in men than women
 Spina bifida – forked spine with open spinal cord
– frequent in women
Internal Environment Affecting Gene
Expression
 3.Substrates – the kind of reaction that takes place
in an organism depends on the substrates present
 In diabetes mellitus – sugar levels is normally
controlled by insulin are not properly regulated
resulting in high-blood sugar level and excretion
of sugar in the urine – eventually leads to a change
in body metabolism from the use of sugar for
energy to excessive use of fatty acids – causing
coma and death
End of Presentation

Thank You.