Genetic Vocabulary
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
TRAIT
- A Characteristic or property of an organism
- Do you have brown or blue eyes? Is your hair curly or straight? These are physical traits that you have from one of your parents. All plants and animals pass traits to their offspring through genes.
- Example Link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/D2E3CCF1-9A90-4A94-BFDD-BA06CE...
Photo by @Doug88888
Dominant Trait
- A genetic trait passed from parent to child that is more likely to be expressed
- Ever notice how people in some families look a lot alike? Some characteristics, like brown eyes, are more likely to be passed on. They are a dominant trait
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/3315D455-2BA0-465A-8268-1FB3A8...
Photo by kevin dooley
CHROMOSOME
- A tightly wound bundle of DNA and proteins found in the nucleus of most living cells
- DNA contains an entire library of information on how to make, maintain, and reproduce an organism. Yet DNA is surprisingly simple. The structure of DNA looks like a spiral staircase. The entire genetic blueprint of an organism is called its genome.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/7CC51DF5-5FF1-4DA2-A020-791B01...
Photo by Jeff Kubina
Heredity
- The passing of traits from parent to offspring
- Many varieties of apples that we buy at the grocery are the result of selective breeding. Breeding plants for particular genetic traits is possible because of heredity.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/3B19D4B1-633B-4DB0-92CE-C85111...
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
Gene
- The basic unit of heredity in a living organism; a segment of DNA or RNA
- If a child has the same kind of ears as his father or the same color hair as his mother, these are characteristics that come from his genes. Genes carry information from the parent that determine what the child will be like.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/7212A5F4-5D1C-4F19-9C8D-487A36...
Photo by harold.lloyd
RECESSIVE TRAIT
- A genetic trait that lacks the ability to manifest itself when a dominant gene is present
- Some are social and dominate the conversation when a group gets together. Some are shy and prefer to let others do the talking. A recessive gene is shy. It does not express itself unless it is with other recessive genes.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/DC1D2EAC-FD83-4423-9CCD-EC8D3F...
Photo by VinothChandar
ALLELES
- What causes different color eyes or hair? The alleles on a gene can describe what things will look like when they are combined during reproduction.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/A3214880-64AC-40B4-9C91-94D304...
Photo by Darwin Bell
PUNNETT SQUARE
- A chart used to determine the possible genetic outcomes for offspring of a given cross
- Punnett squares are graphic calculators that show all the possible outcomes of parent's alleles in their offspring. Alleles are genes that express traits - eye color, height, and skin color are examples.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/5A972C86-64D9-4B41-959D-EC3318...
Photo by jenny downing
PHENOTYPE
- The observable traits of an organism passed on from parent to offspring
- Video games are run by software programs that are in turn controlled by computer programming language. In genetics the phenotype is the game – the physical appearance of something invisible to the eye – the genetic code.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/A3B1B2C7-3A4D-4C68-9CC6-4847B8...
Photo by ALEXANDRE ~ [*Back*] ~
GENOTYPE
- Internal genetic coding passed on from one generation to the next
- A blueprint is passed down from parents to offspring. It is a genetic code that gives us all of our physical traits. This code is called a genotype.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/4830A5BB-5F76-487F-AE63-D659B4...
Photo by keeva999
HOMOZYGOUS
- Having identical pairs of genes for any given pair of hereditary characteristics.
- The dominant trait for eye color is brown, represented by BB. All other eye colors – blue, grey, green, and hazel – are recessive traits, represented by BB
- Example link: http://www.google.com/#safe=active&q=homozygous+picture&imgrc=xGm2DlXxaY5PG...
Photo by giev
HETEROZYGOUS
- Having different pairs of genes for any given pair of hereditary characteristics
- The prefix hetero- means different. A zygote is a cell produced during sexual reproduction. Within a cell there can be two different alleles on chromosomes, which would make the cell heterozygous.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/F5FCEE40-8D4F-48C0-80E8-F28F9D...
Photo by tdlucas5000
DNA
- Found in the nucleus of a cell, a long nucleic acid molecule containing the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of all living organisms; abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid
- Example link:https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/5A572240-2966-4F63-904E-04EA65...
Photo by onkel_wart (thomas lieser)
PROKARYOTE
- Individual microscopic organism with no nucleus
- Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms with cytoplasm, a loop of DNA, cell membranes, ribosomes, and cell walls. They are different from eukaryotes in that they do not contain membrane-bound organelles. Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/6A70088C-95C1-4716-8C81-D2CDE7...
Photo by Danny Perez Photography
EUKARYOTE
- Having complex cells in which the genetic material is contained inside a nucleus
- Animal cells are a type of eukaryotic cell. They are surrounded by a membrane and contain a nucleus and organelles. The nucleus contains the eukaryotic cell's DNA.
- Example link: https://app.discoveryeducation.com/glossary#/D058B7E5-81B2-45DA-8060-D9C055...
Photo by Vince Alongi
