Term
click below
click below
Term
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Heredity
Chapter 5 Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Allele | An alternate form that a gene may have for a single trait; can be dominant or recessive |
Genotype | The genetic make up of an organism |
Phenotype | Outward physical appearance and behavior of an organism as a result of its genotype |
Punnett square | A tool to predict the probability of certain traits in offspring that shows the different ways alleles can combine |
Polygenic Inheritance | Occurs when a group of gene pairs acts together and produces a specific trait, such as human eye color, skin color, or height |
Chromosome | Structure in a cell's nucleus that contains hereditary material |
DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid; the genetic material of all organisms; made up of two twisted strands of sugar-phosphate molecules and nitrogen bases |
Dominant | Describes a trait that covers over, or dominates, another form of that trait |
Fertilization | In sexual reproduction, the joining of a sperm and egg |
Gene | Section of DNA on a chromosome that contains instructions for making specific proteins |
Genetic engineering | Biological and chemical methods to change the arrangement of a gene's DNA to improve crop production, produce large volumes of medicine, and change how cells perform their normal functions |
Genetics | The study of how traits are inherited through the actions of alleles |
Haploid | Cell that has half the number of chromosomes as body cells |
Diploid | Cell whose similar chromosomes occur in pairs |
Heredity | The passing of traits from parents to offspring |
Heterozygous | Describes an organism with two different alleles for a trait |
Homozygous | Describes an organism with two alleles that are the same for a trait |
Hybrid | An offspring that was given different genetic information for a trait from each parent |
Incomplete dominance | Production of a phenotype that is intermediate between the two homozygous parents |
Mutation | Any permanent change in a gene or chromosome of a cell; may be beneficial, harmful, or have little effect on an organism |
Recessive | Describes a trait that is covered over, or dominated, by another form of that trait and seems to disappear |
Sex-linked gene | An allele inherited on a sex chromosome and that can cause human genetic disorders such as color blindness and hemophilia |
Variation | Inherited trait that makes an individual different from other members of the same species and results from a mutation in the organism's genes |