Why is heritability an important phenomenon in plant and animal agriculture?
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Genetics51m
- 2. Mendel's Laws of Inheritance3h 37m
- 3. Extensions to Mendelian Inheritance2h 41m
- 4. Genetic Mapping and Linkage2h 28m
- 5. Genetics of Bacteria and Viruses1h 21m
- 6. Chromosomal Variation1h 48m
- 7. DNA and Chromosome Structure56m
- 8. DNA Replication1h 10m
- 9. Mitosis and Meiosis1h 34m
- 10. Transcription1h 0m
- 11. Translation58m
- 12. Gene Regulation in Prokaryotes1h 19m
- 13. Gene Regulation in Eukaryotes44m
- 14. Genetic Control of Development44m
- 15. Genomes and Genomics1h 50m
- 16. Transposable Elements47m
- 17. Mutation, Repair, and Recombination1h 6m
- 18. Molecular Genetic Tools19m
- 19. Cancer Genetics29m
- 20. Quantitative Genetics1h 26m
- 21. Population Genetics50m
- 22. Evolutionary Genetics29m
3. Extensions to Mendelian Inheritance
Overview of interacting Genes
Problem 10c
Textbook Question
Three pairs of genes with two alleles each (A₁ and A₂, B₁ and B₂, and C₁ and C₂) control the height of a plant. The alleles of these genes have an additive relationship: Each copy of alleles A₁, B₁, and C₁ contributes 6 cm to plant height, and each copy of alleles A₂, B₂, and C₂ contributes 3 cm. What is the expected height of a plant with the genotype A₁A₂B₂B₂C₁C₂?

1
Identify the contribution of each allele to the plant's height. Alleles A₁, B₁, and C₁ contribute 6 cm each, while alleles A₂, B₂, and C₂ contribute 3 cm each.
Break down the genotype A₁A₂B₂B₂C₁C₂ into individual alleles: A₁, A₂, B₂, B₂, C₁, and C₂.
Calculate the contribution of each allele to the plant's height. For example, A₁ contributes 6 cm, A₂ contributes 3 cm, each B₂ contributes 3 cm, C₁ contributes 6 cm, and C₂ contributes 3 cm.
Add the contributions of all alleles together to determine the total height of the plant. Use the formula: Total height = (contribution of A₁) + (contribution of A₂) + (contribution of B₂) + (contribution of B₂) + (contribution of C₁) + (contribution of C₂).
Simplify the expression to find the expected height of the plant.

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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Alleles and Genotypes
Alleles are different versions of a gene that can exist at a specific locus on a chromosome. In this context, A₁, A₂, B₁, B₂, C₁, and C₂ represent the alleles for three different genes controlling plant height. The genotype of an organism is the combination of alleles it possesses, which determines its traits, such as height in this case.
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Additive Genetic Effects
Additive genetic effects occur when the contributions of different alleles to a trait are summed together. In this scenario, each allele contributes a specific amount to the plant's height: A₁, B₁, and C₁ add 6 cm each, while A₂, B₂, and C₂ add 3 cm each. This means the total height can be calculated by adding the contributions of all alleles present in the genotype.
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Calculating Expected Phenotype
The expected phenotype, or observable trait, can be calculated by determining the total contribution of all alleles in a given genotype. For the genotype A₁A₂B₂B₂C₁C₂, we identify the alleles present and apply the additive contributions to find the expected height. This involves counting the number of each type of allele and multiplying by their respective height contributions.
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