Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 173

8 | PATTERNS OF
INHERITANCE

Figure 8.1 Experimenting with thousands of garden peas, Mendel uncovered the fundamentals of genetics. (credit:
modification of work by Jerry Kirkhart)

Chapter Outline
8.1: Mendel’s Experiments
8.2: Laws of Inheritance
8.3: Extensions of the Laws of Inheritance

Introduction
Genetics is the study of heredity. Johann Gregor Mendel set the framework for genetics long before chromosomes or
genes had been identified, at a time when meiosis was not well understood. Mendel selected a simple biological system
and conducted methodical, quantitative analyses using large sample sizes. Because of Mendel’s work, the fundamental
principles of heredity were revealed. We now know that genes, carried on chromosomes, are the basic functional units of
heredity with the ability to be replicated, expressed, or mutated. Today, the postulates put forth by Mendel form the basis of
classical, or Mendelian, genetics. Not all genes are transmitted from parents to offspring according to Mendelian genetics,
but Mendel’s experiments serve as an excellent starting point for thinking about inheritance.
174 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

8.1 | Mendel’s Experiments

By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Explain the scientific reasons for the success of Mendel’s experimental work
• Describe the expected outcomes of monohybrid crosses involving dominant and recessive alleles

Figure 8.2 Johann Gregor Mendel set the framework for the study of genetics.

Johann Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) (Figure 8.2) was a lifelong learner, teacher, scientist, and man of faith. As a young
adult, he joined the Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno in what is now the Czech Republic. Supported by the
monastery, he taught physics, botany, and natural science courses at the secondary and university levels. In 1856, he began
a decade-long research pursuit involving inheritance patterns in honeybees and plants, ultimately settling on pea plants as
his primary model system (a system with convenient characteristics that is used to study a specific biological phenomenon
to gain understanding to be applied to other systems). In 1865, Mendel presented the results of his experiments with nearly
30,000 pea plants to the local natural history society. He demonstrated that traits are transmitted faithfully from parents to
[1]
offspring in specific patterns. In 1866, he published his work, Experiments in Plant Hybridization, in the proceedings of
the Natural History Society of Brünn.
Mendel’s work went virtually unnoticed by the scientific community, which incorrectly believed that the process of
inheritance involved a blending of parental traits that produced an intermediate physical appearance in offspring. This
hypothetical process appeared to be correct because of what we know now as continuous variation. Continuous variation
is the range of small differences we see among individuals in a characteristic like human height. It does appear that offspring
are a “blend” of their parents’ traits when we look at characteristics that exhibit continuous variation. Mendel worked
instead with traits that show discontinuous variation. Discontinuous variation is the variation seen among individuals
when each individual shows one of two—or a very few—easily distinguishable traits, such as violet or white flowers.
Mendel’s choice of these kinds of traits allowed him to see experimentally that the traits were not blended in the offspring
as would have been expected at the time, but that they were inherited as distinct traits. In 1868, Mendel became abbot of
the monastery and exchanged his scientific pursuits for his pastoral duties. He was not recognized for his extraordinary
scientific contributions during his lifetime; in fact, it was not until 1900 that his work was rediscovered, reproduced, and
revitalized by scientists on the brink of discovering the chromosomal basis of heredity.

Mendel’s Crosses
Mendel’s seminal work was accomplished using the garden pea, Pisum sativum, to study inheritance. This species naturally
self-fertilizes, meaning that pollen encounters ova within the same flower. The flower petals remain sealed tightly until
pollination is completed to prevent the pollination of other plants. The result is highly inbred, or “true-breeding,” pea plants.
1. Johann Gregor Mendel, “Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden.” Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereines in Brünn, Bd. IV für das Jahr, 1865
Abhandlungen (1866):3–47. [for English translation, see http://www.mendelweb.org/Mendel.plain.html]

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 175

These are plants that always produce offspring that look like the parent. By experimenting with true-breeding pea plants,
Mendel avoided the appearance of unexpected traits in offspring that might occur if the plants were not true breeding. The
garden pea also grows to maturity within one season, meaning that several generations could be evaluated over a relatively
short time. Finally, large quantities of garden peas could be cultivated simultaneously, allowing Mendel to conclude that his
results did not come about simply by chance.
Mendel performed hybridizations, which involve mating two true-breeding individuals that have different traits. In the pea,
which is naturally self-pollinating, this is done by manually transferring pollen from the anther of a mature pea plant of one
variety to the stigma of a separate mature pea plant of the second variety.
Plants used in first-generation crosses were called P, or parental generation, plants (Figure 8.3). Mendel collected the seeds
produced by the P plants that resulted from each cross and grew them the following season. These offspring were called the
F1, or the first filial (filial = daughter or son), generation. Once Mendel examined the characteristics in the F1 generation of
plants, he allowed them to self-fertilize naturally. He then collected and grew the seeds from the F1 plants to produce the F2,
or second filial, generation. Mendel’s experiments extended beyond the F2 generation to the F3 generation, F4 generation,
and so on, but it was the ratio of characteristics in the P, F1, and F2 generations that were the most intriguing and became
the basis of Mendel’s postulates.
176 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Figure 8.3 Mendel’s process for performing crosses included examining flower color.

Garden Pea Characteristics Revealed the Basics of Heredity

In his 1865 publication, Mendel reported the results of his crosses involving seven different characteristics, each with two
contrasting traits. A trait is defined as a variation in the physical appearance of a heritable characteristic. The characteristics
included plant height, seed texture, seed color, flower color, pea-pod size, pea-pod color, and flower position. For the
characteristic of flower color, for example, the two contrasting traits were white versus violet. To fully examine each
characteristic, Mendel generated large numbers of F1 and F2 plants and reported results from thousands of F2 plants.
What results did Mendel find in his crosses for flower color? First, Mendel confirmed that he was using plants that bred true
for white or violet flower color. Irrespective of the number of generations that Mendel examined, all self-crossed offspring
of parents with white flowers had white flowers, and all self-crossed offspring of parents with violet flowers had violet
flowers. In addition, Mendel confirmed that, other than flower color, the pea plants were physically identical. This was an
important check to make sure that the two varieties of pea plants only differed with respect to one trait, flower color.
Once these validations were complete, Mendel applied the pollen from a plant with violet flowers to the stigma of a plant
with white flowers. After gathering and sowing the seeds that resulted from this cross, Mendel found that 100 percent of

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 177

the F1 hybrid generation had violet flowers. Conventional wisdom at that time would have predicted the hybrid flowers
to be pale violet or for hybrid plants to have equal numbers of white and violet flowers. In other words, the contrasting
parental traits were expected to blend in the offspring. Instead, Mendel’s results demonstrated that the white flower trait had
completely disappeared in the F1 generation.
Importantly, Mendel did not stop his experimentation there. He allowed the F1 plants to self-fertilize and found that 705
plants in the F2 generation had violet flowers and 224 had white flowers. This was a ratio of 3.15 violet flowers to one
white flower, or approximately 3:1. When Mendel transferred pollen from a plant with violet flowers to the stigma of a
plant with white flowers and vice versa, he obtained approximately the same ratio irrespective of which parent—male or
female—contributed which trait. This is called a reciprocal cross—a paired cross in which the respective traits of the
male and female in one cross become the respective traits of the female and male in the other cross. For the other six
characteristics that Mendel examined, the F1 and F2 generations behaved in the same way that they behaved for flower
color. One of the two traits would disappear completely from the F1 generation, only to reappear in the F2 generation at a
ratio of roughly 3:1 (Figure 8.4).

Figure 8.4 Mendel identified seven pea plant characteristics.

Upon compiling his results for many thousands of plants, Mendel concluded that the characteristics could be divided into
expressed and latent traits. He called these dominant and recessive traits, respectively. Dominant traits are those that are
inherited unchanged in a hybridization. Recessive traits become latent, or disappear in the offspring of a hybridization. The
recessive trait does, however, reappear in the progeny of the hybrid offspring. An example of a dominant trait is the violet-
colored flower trait. For this same characteristic (flower color), white-colored flowers are a recessive trait. The fact that the
recessive trait reappeared in the F2 generation meant that the traits remained separate (and were not blended) in the plants
of the F1 generation. Mendel proposed that this was because the plants possessed two copies of the trait for the flower-
color characteristic, and that each parent transmitted one of their two copies to their offspring, where they came together.
Moreover, the physical observation of a dominant trait could mean that the genetic composition of the organism included
two dominant versions of the characteristic, or that it included one dominant and one recessive version. Conversely, the
observation of a recessive trait meant that the organism lacked any dominant versions of this characteristic.
178 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

For an excellent review of Mendel’s experiments and to perform your own crosses and identify patterns of inheritance,
visit the Mendel’s Peas (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/mendels_peas) web lab.

8.2 | Laws of Inheritance

By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Explain the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes in dominant and recessive gene systems
• Use a Punnett square to calculate the expected proportions of genotypes and phenotypes in a monohybrid cross
• Explain Mendel’s law of segregation and independent assortment in terms of genetics and the events of meiosis
• Explain the purpose and methods of a test cross

The seven characteristics that Mendel evaluated in his pea plants were each expressed as one of two versions, or
traits. Mendel deduced from his results that each individual had two discrete copies of the characteristic that are passed
individually to offspring. We now call those two copies genes, which are carried on chromosomes. The reason we have two
copies of each gene is that we inherit one from each parent. In fact, it is the chromosomes we inherit and the two copies
of each gene are located on paired chromosomes. Recall that in meiosis these chromosomes are separated out into haploid
gametes. This separation, or segregation, of the homologous chromosomes means also that only one of the copies of the
gene gets moved into a gamete. The offspring are formed when that gamete unites with one from another parent and the two
copies of each gene (and chromosome) are restored.
For cases in which a single gene controls a single characteristic, a diploid organism has two genetic copies that may or
may not encode the same version of that characteristic. For example, one individual may carry a gene that determines white
flower color and a gene that determines violet flower color. Gene variants that arise by mutation and exist at the same
relative locations on homologous chromosomes are called alleles. Mendel examined the inheritance of genes with just two
allele forms, but it is common to encounter more than two alleles for any given gene in a natural population.

Phenotypes and Genotypes

Two alleles for a given gene in a diploid organism are expressed and interact to produce physical characteristics. The
observable traits expressed by an organism are referred to as its phenotype. An organism’s underlying genetic makeup,
consisting of both the physically visible and the non-expressed alleles, is called its genotype. Mendel’s hybridization
experiments demonstrate the difference between phenotype and genotype. For example, the phenotypes that Mendel
observed in his crosses between pea plants with differing traits are connected to the diploid genotypes of the plants in the
P, F1, and F2 generations. We will use a second trait that Mendel investigated, seed color, as an example. Seed color is
governed by a single gene with two alleles. The yellow-seed allele is dominant and the green-seed allele is recessive. When
true-breeding plants were cross-fertilized, in which one parent had yellow seeds and one had green seeds, all of the F1
hybrid offspring had yellow seeds. That is, the hybrid offspring were phenotypically identical to the true-breeding parent
with yellow seeds. However, we know that the allele donated by the parent with green seeds was not simply lost because it
reappeared in some of the F2 offspring (Figure 8.5). Therefore, the F1 plants must have been genotypically different from
the parent with yellow seeds.
The P plants that Mendel used in his experiments were each homozygous for the trait he was studying. Diploid organisms
that are homozygous for a gene have two identical alleles, one on each of their homologous chromosomes. The genotype
is often written as YY or yy, for which each letter represents one of the two alleles in the genotype. The dominant allele
is capitalized and the recessive allele is lower case. The letter used for the gene (seed color in this case) is usually related
to the dominant trait (yellow allele, in this case, or “Y”). Mendel’s parental pea plants always bred true because both

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 179

produced gametes carried the same allele. When P plants with contrasting traits were cross-fertilized, all of the offspring
were heterozygous for the contrasting trait, meaning their genotype had different alleles for the gene being examined. For
example, the F1 yellow plants that received a Y allele from their yellow parent and a y allele from their green parent had the
genotype Yy.

Figure 8.5 Phenotypes are physical expressions of traits that are transmitted by alleles. Capital letters represent
dominant alleles and lowercase letters represent recessive alleles. The phenotypic ratios are the ratios of visible
characteristics. The genotypic ratios are the ratios of gene combinations in the offspring, and these are not always
distinguishable in the phenotypes.

Law of Dominance
Our discussion of homozygous and heterozygous organisms brings us to why the F1 heterozygous offspring were identical
to one of the parents, rather than expressing both alleles. In all seven pea-plant characteristics, one of the two contrasting
alleles was dominant, and the other was recessive. Mendel called the dominant allele the expressed unit factor; the recessive
allele was referred to as the latent unit factor. We now know that these so-called unit factors are actually genes on
homologous chromosomes. For a gene that is expressed in a dominant and recessive pattern, homozygous dominant and
heterozygous organisms will look identical (that is, they will have different genotypes but the same phenotype), and the
recessive allele will only be observed in homozygous recessive individuals (Table 8.1).

Correspondence between Genotype and Phenotype for a Dominant-Recessive

Characteristic.
Homozygous Heterozygous Homozygous
Genotype YY Yy yy
Phenotype yellow yellow green

Table 8.1

Mendel’s law of dominance states that in a heterozygote, one trait will conceal the presence of another trait for the same
characteristic. For example, when crossing true-breeding violet-flowered plants with true-breeding white-flowered plants,
all of the offspring were violet-flowered, even though they all had one allele for violet and one allele for white. Rather
than both alleles contributing to a phenotype, the dominant allele will be expressed exclusively. The recessive allele will
remain latent, but will be transmitted to offspring in the same manner as that by which the dominant allele is transmitted.
The recessive trait will only be expressed by offspring that have two copies of this allele (Figure 8.6), and these offspring
will breed true when self-crossed.
180 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Figure 8.6 The allele for albinism, expressed here in humans, is recessive. Both of this child’s parents carried the
recessive allele.

Monohybrid Cross and the Punnett Square

When fertilization occurs between two true-breeding parents that differ by only the characteristic being studied, the process
is called a monohybrid cross, and the resulting offspring are called monohybrids. Mendel performed seven types of
monohybrid crosses, each involving contrasting traits for different characteristics. Out of these crosses, all of the F1
offspring had the phenotype of one parent, and the F2 offspring had a 3:1 phenotypic ratio. On the basis of these results,
Mendel postulated that each parent in the monohybrid cross contributed one of two paired unit factors to each offspring,
and every possible combination of unit factors was equally likely.
The results of Mendel’s research can be explained in terms of probabilities, which are mathematical measures of likelihood.
The probability of an event is calculated by the number of times the event occurs divided by the total number of
opportunities for the event to occur. A probability of one (100 percent) for some event indicates that it is guaranteed to
occur, whereas a probability of zero (0 percent) indicates that it is guaranteed to not occur, and a probability of 0.5 (50
percent) means it has an equal chance of occurring or not occurring.
To demonstrate this with a monohybrid cross, consider the case of true-breeding pea plants with yellow versus green
seeds. The dominant seed color is yellow; therefore, the parental genotypes were YY for the plants with yellow seeds and
yy for the plants with green seeds. A Punnett square, devised by the British geneticist Reginald Punnett, is useful for
determining probabilities because it is drawn to predict all possible outcomes of all possible random fertilization events and
their expected frequencies. Figure 8.9 shows a Punnett square for a cross between a plant with yellow peas and one with
green peas. To prepare a Punnett square, all possible combinations of the parental alleles (the genotypes of the gametes) are
listed along the top (for one parent) and side (for the other parent) of a grid. The combinations of egg and sperm gametes
are then made in the boxes in the table on the basis of which alleles are combining. Each box then represents the diploid
genotype of a zygote, or fertilized egg. Because each possibility is equally likely, genotypic ratios can be determined from
a Punnett square. If the pattern of inheritance (dominant and recessive) is known, the phenotypic ratios can be inferred as
well. For a monohybrid cross of two true-breeding parents, each parent contributes one type of allele. In this case, only one
genotype is possible in the F1 offspring. All offspring are Yy and have yellow seeds.
When the F1 offspring are crossed with each other, each has an equal probability of contributing either a Y or a y to the F2
offspring. The result is a 1 in 4 (25 percent) probability of both parents contributing a Y, resulting in an offspring with a
yellow phenotype; a 25 percent probability of parent A contributing a Y and parent B a y, resulting in offspring with a yellow
phenotype; a 25 percent probability of parent A contributing a y and parent B a Y, also resulting in a yellow phenotype; and
a (25 percent) probability of both parents contributing a y, resulting in a green phenotype. When counting all four possible
outcomes, there is a 3 in 4 probability of offspring having the yellow phenotype and a 1 in 4 probability of offspring having
the green phenotype. This explains why the results of Mendel’s F2 generation occurred in a 3:1 phenotypic ratio. Using

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 181

large numbers of crosses, Mendel was able to calculate probabilities, found that they fit the model of inheritance, and use
these to predict the outcomes of other crosses.

Law of Segregation
Observing that true-breeding pea plants with contrasting traits gave rise to F1 generations that all expressed the dominant
trait and F2 generations that expressed the dominant and recessive traits in a 3:1 ratio, Mendel proposed the law of
segregation. This law states that paired unit factors (genes) must segregate equally into gametes such that offspring have
an equal likelihood of inheriting either factor. For the F2 generation of a monohybrid cross, the following three possible
combinations of genotypes result: homozygous dominant, heterozygous, or homozygous recessive. Because heterozygotes
could arise from two different pathways (receiving one dominant and one recessive allele from either parent), and because
heterozygotes and homozygous dominant individuals are phenotypically identical, the law supports Mendel’s observed 3:1
phenotypic ratio. The equal segregation of alleles is the reason we can apply the Punnett square to accurately predict the
offspring of parents with known genotypes. The physical basis of Mendel’s law of segregation is the first division of meiosis
in which the homologous chromosomes with their different versions of each gene are segregated into daughter nuclei. This
process was not understood by the scientific community during Mendel’s lifetime (Figure 8.7).

Figure 8.7 The first division in meiosis is shown.

Test Cross
Beyond predicting the offspring of a cross between known homozygous or heterozygous parents, Mendel also developed
a way to determine whether an organism that expressed a dominant trait was a heterozygote or a homozygote. Called the
test cross, this technique is still used by plant and animal breeders. In a test cross, the dominant-expressing organism is
crossed with an organism that is homozygous recessive for the same characteristic. If the dominant-expressing organism is
a homozygote, then all F1 offspring will be heterozygotes expressing the dominant trait (Figure 8.8). Alternatively, if the
dominant-expressing organism is a heterozygote, the F1 offspring will exhibit a 1:1 ratio of heterozygotes and recessive
homozygotes (Figure 8.8). The test cross further validates Mendel’s postulate that pairs of unit factors segregate equally.
182 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Figure 8.8 A test cross can be performed to determine whether an organism expressing a dominant trait is a
homozygote or a heterozygote.

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 183

Figure 8.9 This Punnett square shows the cross between plants with yellow seeds and green seeds. The cross
between the true-breeding P plants produces F1 heterozygotes that can be self-fertilized. The self-cross of the
F1 generation can be analyzed with a Punnett square to predict the genotypes of the F2 generation. Given an
inheritance pattern of dominant–recessive, the genotypic and phenotypic ratios can then be determined.

In pea plants, round peas (R) are dominant to wrinkled peas (r). You do a test cross between a pea plant
with wrinkled peas (genotype rr) and a plant of unknown genotype that has round peas. You end up with
three plants, all which have round peas. From this data, can you tell if the parent plant is homozygous
dominant or heterozygous?

Law of Independent Assortment

Mendel’s law of independent assortment states that genes do not influence each other with regard to the sorting of alleles
into gametes, and every possible combination of alleles for every gene is equally likely to occur. Independent assortment of
genes can be illustrated by the dihybrid cross, a cross between two true-breeding parents that express different traits for two
characteristics. Consider the characteristics of seed color and seed texture for two pea plants, one that has wrinkled, green
seeds (rryy) and another that has round, yellow seeds (RRYY). Because each parent is homozygous, the law of segregation
indicates that the gametes for the wrinkled–green plant all are ry, and the gametes for the round–yellow plant are all RY.
Therefore, the F1 generation of offspring all are RrYy (Figure 8.10).
184 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Figure 8.10 A dihybrid cross in pea plants involves the genes for seed color and texture. The P cross produces
F1 offspring that are all heterozygous for both characteristics. The resulting 9:3:3:1 F2 phenotypic ratio is obtained
using a Punnett square.

In pea plants, purple flowers (P) are dominant to white (p), and yellow peas (Y) are dominant to green (y).
What are the possible genotypes and phenotypes for a cross between PpYY and ppYy pea plants? How
many squares would you need to complete a Punnett square analysis of this cross?

The gametes produced by the F1 individuals must have one allele from each of the two genes. For example, a gamete could
get an R allele for the seed shape gene and either a Y or a y allele for the seed color gene. It cannot get both an R and an r
allele; each gamete can have only one allele per gene. The law of independent assortment states that a gamete into which
an r allele is sorted would be equally likely to contain either a Y or a y allele. Thus, there are four equally likely gametes
that can be formed when the RrYy heterozygote is self-crossed, as follows: RY, rY, Ry, and ry. Arranging these gametes
along the top and left of a 4 × 4 Punnett square (Figure 8.10) gives us 16 equally likely genotypic combinations. From
these genotypes, we find a phenotypic ratio of 9 round–yellow:3 round–green:3 wrinkled–yellow:1 wrinkled–green (Figure
8.10). These are the offspring ratios we would expect, assuming we performed the crosses with a large enough sample size.
The physical basis for the law of independent assortment also lies in meiosis I, in which the different homologous pairs line
up in random orientations. Each gamete can contain any combination of paternal and maternal chromosomes (and therefore
the genes on them) because the orientation of tetrads on the metaphase plane is random (Figure 8.11).

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 185

Figure 8.11 The random segregation into daughter nuclei that happens during the first division in meiosis can lead to
a variety of possible genetic arrangements.

8.3 | Extensions of the Laws of Inheritance

By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Identify non-Mendelian inheritance patterns such as incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, and sex
linkage from the results of crosses
• Explain the effect of linkage and recombination on gamete genotypes
• Explain the phenotypic outcomes of epistatic effects among genes

Mendel studied traits with only one mode of inheritance in pea plants. The inheritance of the traits he studied all followed
the relatively simple pattern of dominant and recessive alleles for a single characteristic. There are several important modes
of inheritance, discovered after Mendel’s work, that do not follow the dominant and recessive, single-gene model.

Alternatives to Dominance and Recessiveness

Mendel’s experiments with pea plants suggested that: 1) two types of “units” or alleles exist for every gene; 2) alleles
maintain their integrity in each generation (no blending); and 3) in the presence of the dominant allele, the recessive
allele is hidden, with no contribution to the phenotype. Therefore, recessive alleles can be “carried” and not expressed
by individuals. Such heterozygous individuals are sometimes referred to as “carriers.” Since then, genetic studies in other
organisms have shown that much more complexity exists, but that the fundamental principles of Mendelian genetics still
hold true. In the sections to follow, we consider some of the extensions of Mendelism.
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Incomplete Dominance
Mendel’s results, demonstrating that traits are inherited as dominant and recessive pairs, contradicted the view at that time
that offspring exhibited a blend of their parents’ traits. However, the heterozygote phenotype occasionally does appear
to be intermediate between the two parents. For example, in the snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus (Figure 8.12), a cross
between a homozygous parent with white flowers (CWCW) and a homozygous parent with red flowers (CRCR) will produce
offspring with pink flowers (CRCW). (Note that different genotypic abbreviations are used for Mendelian extensions to
distinguish these patterns from simple dominance and recessiveness.) This pattern of inheritance is described as incomplete
dominance, meaning that one of the alleles appears in the phenotype in the heterozygote, but not to the exclusion of
the other, which can also be seen. The allele for red flowers is incompletely dominant over the allele for white flowers.
However, the results of a heterozygote self-cross can still be predicted, just as with Mendelian dominant and recessive
crosses. In this case, the genotypic ratio would be 1 CRCR:2 CRCW:1 CWCW, and the phenotypic ratio would be 1:2:1 for
red:pink:white. The basis for the intermediate color in the heterozygote is simply that the pigment produced by the red
allele (anthocyanin) is diluted in the heterozygote and therefore appears pink because of the white background of the flower
petals.

Figure 8.12 These pink flowers of a heterozygote snapdragon result from incomplete dominance. (credit:
"storebukkebruse"/Flickr)

Codominance
A variation on incomplete dominance is codominance, in which both alleles for the same characteristic are simultaneously
expressed in the heterozygote. An example of codominance occurs in the ABO blood groups of humans. The A and B
alleles are expressed in the form of A or B molecules present on the surface of red blood cells. Homozygotes (IAIA and IBIB)
express either the A or the B phenotype, and heterozygotes (IAIB) express both phenotypes equally. The IAIB individual has
blood type AB. In a self-cross between heterozygotes expressing a codominant trait, the three possible offspring genotypes
are phenotypically distinct. However, the 1:2:1 genotypic ratio characteristic of a Mendelian monohybrid cross still applies
(Figure 8.13).

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 187

Figure 8.13 This Punnet square shows an AB/AB blood type cross

Multiple Alleles
Mendel implied that only two alleles, one dominant and one recessive, could exist for a given gene. We now know that this
is an oversimplification. Although individual humans (and all diploid organisms) can only have two alleles for a given gene,
multiple alleles may exist at the population level, such that many combinations of two alleles are observed. Note that when
many alleles exist for the same gene, the convention is to denote the most common phenotype or genotype in the natural
population as the wild type (often abbreviated “+”). All other phenotypes or genotypes are considered variants (mutants)
of this typical form, meaning they deviate from the wild type. The variant may be recessive or dominant to the wild-type
allele.
An example of multiple alleles is the ABO blood-type system in humans. In this case, there are three alleles circulating
in the population. The IA allele codes for A molecules on the red blood cells, the IB allele codes for B molecules on the
surface of red blood cells, and the i allele codes for no molecules on the red blood cells. In this case, the IA and IB alleles are
codominant with each other and are both dominant over the i allele. Although there are three alleles present in a population,
each individual only gets two of the alleles from their parents. This produces the genotypes and phenotypes shown in Figure
8.14. Notice that instead of three genotypes, there are six different genotypes when there are three alleles. The number of
possible phenotypes depends on the dominance relationships between the three alleles.
188 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Figure 8.14 Inheritance of the ABO blood system in humans is shown.

Multiple Alleles Confer Drug Resistance in the Malaria Parasite

Malaria is a parasitic disease in humans that is transmitted by infected female mosquitoes, including
Anopheles gambiae, and is characterized by cyclic high fevers, chills, flu-like symptoms, and severe
anemia. Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax are the most common causative agents of malaria, and P.
falciparum is the most deadly. When promptly and correctly treated, P. falciparum malaria has a mortality
rate of 0.1 percent. However, in some parts of the world, the parasite has evolved resistance to commonly
used malaria treatments, so the most effective malarial treatments can vary by geographic region.
In Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, P. falciparum has developed resistance to the anti-malarial
drugs chloroquine, mefloquine, and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. P. falciparum, which is haploid during the
life stage in which it is infective to humans, has evolved multiple drug-resistant mutant alleles of the dhps
gene. Varying degrees of sulfadoxine resistance are associated with each of these alleles. Being haploid, P.
falciparum needs only one drug-resistant allele to express this trait.
In Southeast Asia, different sulfadoxine-resistant alleles of the dhps gene are localized to different
geographic regions. This is a common evolutionary phenomenon that comes about because drug-resistant
mutants arise in a population and interbreed with other P. falciparum isolates in close proximity. Sulfadoxine-
resistant parasites cause considerable human hardship in regions in which this drug is widely used as an
over-the-counter malaria remedy. As is common with pathogens that multiply to large numbers within an
infection cycle, P. falciparum evolves relatively rapidly (over a decade or so) in response to the selective
pressure of commonly used anti-malarial drugs. For this reason, scientists must constantly work to develop
[2]
new drugs or drug combinations to combat the worldwide malaria burden.

Sex-Linked Traits
In humans, as well as in many other animals and some plants, the sex of the individual is determined by sex
chromosomes—one pair of non-homologous chromosomes. Until now, we have only considered inheritance patterns among
non-sex chromosomes, or autosomes. In addition to 22 homologous pairs of autosomes, human females have a homologous
pair of X chromosomes, whereas human males have an XY chromosome pair. Although the Y chromosome contains a small
region of similarity to the X chromosome so that they can pair during meiosis, the Y chromosome is much shorter and
contains fewer genes. When a gene being examined is present on the X, but not the Y, chromosome, it is X-linked.
Eye color in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, was the first X-linked trait to be identified. Thomas Hunt Morgan mapped
this trait to the X chromosome in 1910. Like humans, Drosophila males have an XY chromosome pair, and females are XX.

2. Sumiti Vinayak et al., “Origin and Evolution of Sulfadoxine Resistant Plasmodium falciparum,” PLoS Pathogens 6 (2010): e1000830.

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 189

In flies the wild-type eye color is red (XW) and is dominant to white eye color (Xw) (Figure 8.15). Because of the location
of the eye-color gene, reciprocal crosses do not produce the same offspring ratios. Males are said to be hemizygous, in that
they have only one allele for any X-linked characteristic. Hemizygosity makes descriptions of dominance and recessiveness
irrelevant for XY males. Drosophila males lack the white gene on the Y chromosome; that is, their genotype can only be
XWY or XwY. In contrast, females have two allele copies of this gene and can be XWXW, XWXw, or XwXw.

Figure 8.15 In Drosophila, the gene for eye color is located on the X chromosome. Red eye color is wild-type and is
dominant to white eye color.

In an X-linked cross, the genotypes of F1 and F2 offspring depend on whether the recessive trait was expressed by the male
or the female in the P generation. With respect to Drosophila eye color, when the P male expresses the white-eye phenotype
and the female is homozygously red-eyed, all members of the F1 generation exhibit red eyes (Figure 8.16). The F1 females
are heterozygous (XWXw), and the males are all XWY, having received their X chromosome from the homozygous dominant
P female and their Y chromosome from the P male. A subsequent cross between the XWXw female and the XWY male
would produce only red-eyed females (with XWXW or XWXw genotypes) and both red- and white-eyed males (with XWY
or XwY genotypes). Now, consider a cross between a homozygous white-eyed female and a male with red eyes. The F1
generation would exhibit only heterozygous red-eyed females (XWXw) and only white-eyed males (XwY). Half of the F2
females would be red-eyed (XWXw) and half would be white-eyed (XwXw). Similarly, half of the F2 males would be red-
eyed (XWY) and half would be white-eyed (XwY).
190 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Figure 8.16 Crosses involving sex-linked traits often give rise to different phenotypes for the different sexes of
offspring, as is the case for this cross involving red and white eye color in Drosophila. In the diagram, w is the
white-eye mutant allele and W is the wild-type, red-eye allele.

What ratio of offspring would result from a cross between a white-eyed male and a female that is
heterozygous for red eye color?

Discoveries in fruit fly genetics can be applied to human genetics. When a female parent is homozygous for a recessive
X-linked trait, she will pass the trait on to 100 percent of her male offspring, because the males will receive the Y
chromosome from the male parent. In humans, the alleles for certain conditions (some color-blindness, hemophilia, and
muscular dystrophy) are X-linked. Females who are heterozygous for these diseases are said to be carriers and may not
exhibit any phenotypic effects. These females will pass the disease to half of their sons and will pass carrier status to half of
their daughters; therefore, X-linked traits appear more frequently in males than females.
In some groups of organisms with sex chromosomes, the sex with the non-homologous sex chromosomes is the female
rather than the male. This is the case for all birds. In this case, sex-linked traits will be more likely to appear in the female,
in whom they are hemizygous.

Watch this video (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/sex-linked_trts) to learn more about sex-linked traits.

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 191

Linked Genes Violate the Law of Independent Assortment

Although all of Mendel’s pea plant characteristics behaved according to the law of independent assortment, we now know
that some allele combinations are not inherited independently of each other. Genes that are located on separate, non-
homologous chromosomes will always sort independently. However, each chromosome contains hundreds or thousands of
genes, organized linearly on chromosomes like beads on a string. The segregation of alleles into gametes can be influenced
by linkage, in which genes that are located physically close to each other on the same chromosome are more likely to be
inherited as a pair. However, because of the process of recombination, or “crossover,” it is possible for two genes on the
same chromosome to behave independently, or as if they are not linked. To understand this, let us consider the biological
basis of gene linkage and recombination.
Homologous chromosomes possess the same genes in the same order, though the specific alleles of the gene can be different
on each of the two chromosomes. Recall that during interphase and prophase I of meiosis, homologous chromosomes first
replicate and then synapse, with like genes on the homologs aligning with each other. At this stage, segments of homologous
chromosomes exchange linear segments of genetic material (Figure 8.17). This process is called recombination, or
crossover, and it is a common genetic process. Because the genes are aligned during recombination, the gene order is not
altered. Instead, the result of recombination is that maternal and paternal alleles are combined onto the same chromosome.
Across a given chromosome, several recombination events may occur, causing extensive shuffling of alleles.

Figure 8.17 The process of crossover, or recombination, occurs when two homologous chromosomes align and
exchange a segment of genetic material.

When two genes are located on the same chromosome, they are considered linked, and their alleles tend to be transmitted
through meiosis together. To exemplify this, imagine a dihybrid cross involving flower color and plant height in which the
genes are next to each other on the chromosome. If one homologous chromosome has alleles for tall plants and red flowers,
and the other chromosome has genes for short plants and yellow flowers, then when the gametes are formed, the tall and red
alleles will tend to go together into a gamete and the short and yellow alleles will go into other gametes. These are called the
parental genotypes because they have been inherited intact from the parents of the individual producing gametes. But unlike
if the genes were on different chromosomes, there will be no gametes with tall and yellow alleles and no gametes with short
and red alleles. If you create a Punnett square with these gametes, you will see that the classical Mendelian prediction of a
9:3:3:1 outcome of a dihybrid cross would not apply. As the distance between two genes increases, the probability of one
or more crossovers between them increases and the genes behave more like they are on separate chromosomes. Geneticists
have used the proportion of recombinant gametes (the ones not like the parents) as a measure of how far apart genes are
on a chromosome. Using this information, they have constructed linkage maps of genes on chromosomes for well-studied
organisms, including humans.
Mendel’s seminal publication makes no mention of linkage, and many researchers have questioned whether he encountered
linkage but chose not to publish those crosses out of concern that they would invalidate his independent assortment
postulate. The garden pea has seven chromosomes, and some have suggested that his choice of seven characteristics was
not a coincidence. However, even if the genes he examined were not located on separate chromosomes, it is possible that
he simply did not observe linkage because of the extensive shuffling effects of recombination.
192 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

Epistasis
Mendel’s studies in pea plants implied that the sum of an individual’s phenotype was controlled by genes (or as he called
them, unit factors), such that every characteristic was distinctly and completely controlled by a single gene. In fact, single
observable characteristics are almost always under the influence of multiple genes (each with two or more alleles) acting in
unison. For example, at least eight genes contribute to eye color in humans.

Eye color in humans is determined by multiple alleles. Use the Eye Color Calculator (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/
eye_color_calc) to predict the eye color of children from parental eye color.

In some cases, several genes can contribute to aspects of a common phenotype without their gene products ever directly
interacting. In the case of organ development, for instance, genes may be expressed sequentially, with each gene adding to
the complexity and specificity of the organ. Genes may function in complementary or synergistic fashions, such that two or
more genes expressed simultaneously affect a phenotype. An apparent example of this occurs with human skin color, which
appears to involve the action of at least three (and probably more) genes. Cases in which inheritance for a characteristic like
skin color or human height depend on the combined effects of numerous genes are called polygenic inheritance.
Genes may also oppose each other, with one gene suppressing the expression of another. In epistasis, the interaction
between genes is antagonistic, such that one gene masks or interferes with the expression of another. “Epistasis” is a word
composed of Greek roots meaning “standing upon.” The alleles that are being masked or silenced are said to be hypostatic
to the epistatic alleles that are doing the masking. Often the biochemical basis of epistasis is a gene pathway in which
expression of one gene is dependent on the function of a gene that precedes or follows it in the pathway.
An example of epistasis is pigmentation in mice. The wild-type coat color, agouti (AA) is dominant to solid-colored fur
(aa). However, a separate gene C, when present as the recessive homozygote (cc), negates any expression of pigment from
the A gene and results in an albino mouse (Figure 8.18). Therefore, the genotypes AAcc, Aacc, and aacc all produce the
same albino phenotype. A cross between heterozygotes for both genes (AaCc x AaCc) would generate offspring with a
phenotypic ratio of 9 agouti:3 black:4 albino (Figure 8.18). In this case, the C gene is epistatic to the A gene.

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 193

Figure 8.18 In this example of epistasis, one gene (C) masks the expression of another (A) for coat color. When the C
allele is present, coat color is expressed; when it is absent (cc), no coat color is expressed. Coat color depends on the
A gene, which shows dominance, with the recessive homozygote showing a different phenotype than the heterozygote
or dominant homozygote.
194 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

KEY TERMS
allele one of two or more variants of a gene that determines a particular trait for a characteristic

codominance in a heterozygote, complete and simultaneous expression of both alleles for the same characteristic

continuous variation a variation in a characteristic in which individuals show a range of traits with small differences
between them

dihybrid the result of a cross between two true-breeding parents that express different traits for two characteristics

discontinuous variation a variation in a characteristic in which individuals show two, or a few, traits with large
differences between them

dominant describes a trait that masks the expression of another trait when both versions of the gene are present in an
individual

epistasis an interaction between genes such that one gene masks or interferes with the expression of another

F1 the first filial generation in a cross; the offspring of the parental generation

F2 the second filial generation produced when F1 individuals are self-crossed or fertilized with each other

genotype the underlying genetic makeup, consisting of both physically visible and non-expressed alleles, of an organism

hemizygous the presence of only one allele for a characteristic, as in X-linkage; hemizygosity makes descriptions of
dominance and recessiveness irrelevant

heterozygous having two different alleles for a given gene on the homologous chromosomes

homozygous having two identical alleles for a given gene on the homologous chromosomes

hybridization the process of mating two individuals that differ, with the goal of achieving a certain characteristic in their
offspring

incomplete dominance in a heterozygote, expression of two contrasting alleles such that the individual displays an
intermediate phenotype

law of dominance in a heterozygote, one trait will conceal the presence of another trait for the same characteristic

law of independent assortment genes do not influence each other with regard to sorting of alleles into gametes; every
possible combination of alleles is equally likely to occur

law of segregation paired unit factors (i.e., genes) segregate equally into gametes such that offspring have an equal
likelihood of inheriting any combination of factors

linkage a phenomenon in which alleles that are located in close proximity to each other on the same chromosome are more
likely to be inherited together

model system a species or biological system used to study a specific biological phenomenon to gain understanding that
will be applied to other species

monohybrid the result of a cross between two true-breeding parents that express different traits for only one characteristic

P the parental generation in a cross

phenotype the observable traits expressed by an organism

Punnett square a visual representation of a cross between two individuals in which the gametes of each individual are
denoted along the top and side of a grid, respectively, and the possible zygotic genotypes are recombined at each box
in the grid

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 195

recessive describes a trait whose expression is masked by another trait when the alleles for both traits are present in an
individual

reciprocal cross a paired cross in which the respective traits of the male and female in one cross become the respective
traits of the female and male in the other cross

recombination the process during meiosis in which homologous chromosomes exchange linear segments of genetic
material, thereby dramatically increasing genetic variation in the offspring and separating linked genes

test cross a cross between a dominant expressing individual with an unknown genotype and a homozygous recessive
individual; the offspring phenotypes indicate whether the unknown parent is heterozygous or homozygous for the
dominant trait

trait a variation in an inherited characteristic

wild type the most commonly occurring genotype or phenotype for a given characteristic found in a population

X-linked a gene present on the X chromosome, but not the Y chromosome

CHAPTER SUMMARY
8.1 Mendel’s Experiments

Working with garden pea plants, Mendel found that crosses between parents that differed for one trait produced F1
offspring that all expressed one parent’s traits. The traits that were visible in the F1 generation are referred to as dominant,
and traits that disappear in the F1 generation are described as recessive. When the F1 plants in Mendel’s experiment were
self-crossed, the F2 offspring exhibited the dominant trait or the recessive trait in a 3:1 ratio, confirming that the recessive
trait had been transmitted faithfully from the original P parent. Reciprocal crosses generated identical F 1 and F2 offspring
ratios. By examining sample sizes, Mendel showed that traits were inherited as independent events.

8.2 Laws of Inheritance

When true-breeding, or homozygous, individuals that differ for a certain trait are crossed, all of the offspring will be
heterozygous for that trait. If the traits are inherited as dominant and recessive, the F 1 offspring will all exhibit the same
phenotype as the parent homozygous for the dominant trait. If these heterozygous offspring are self-crossed, the resulting
F2 offspring will be equally likely to inherit gametes carrying the dominant or recessive trait, giving rise to offspring of
which one quarter are homozygous dominant, half are heterozygous, and one quarter are homozygous recessive. Because
homozygous dominant and heterozygous individuals are phenotypically identical, the observed traits in the F 2 offspring
will exhibit a ratio of three dominant to one recessive.
Mendel postulated that genes (characteristics) are inherited as pairs of alleles (traits) that behave in a dominant and
recessive pattern. Alleles segregate into gametes such that each gamete is equally likely to receive either one of the two
alleles present in a diploid individual. In addition, genes are assorted into gametes independently of one another. That is, in
general, alleles are not more likely to segregate into a gamete with a particular allele of another gene.

8.3 Extensions of the Laws of Inheritance

Alleles do not always behave in dominant and recessive patterns. Incomplete dominance describes situations in which the
heterozygote exhibits a phenotype that is intermediate between the homozygous phenotypes. Codominance describes the
simultaneous expression of both of the alleles in the heterozygote. Although diploid organisms can only have two alleles
for any given gene, it is common for more than two alleles for a gene to exist in a population. In humans, as in many
animals and some plants, females have two X chromosomes and males have one X and one Y chromosome. Genes that are
present on the X but not the Y chromosome are said to be X-linked, such that males only inherit one allele for the gene,
and females inherit two.
According to Mendel’s law of independent assortment, genes sort independently of each other into gametes during
meiosis. This occurs because chromosomes, on which the genes reside, assort independently during meiosis and
crossovers cause most genes on the same chromosomes to also behave independently. When genes are located in close
proximity on the same chromosome, their alleles tend to be inherited together. This results in offspring ratios that violate
Mendel's law of independent assortment. However, recombination serves to exchange genetic material on homologous
chromosomes such that maternal and paternal alleles may be recombined on the same chromosome. This is why alleles on
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a given chromosome are not always inherited together. Recombination is a random event occurring anywhere on a
chromosome. Therefore, genes that are far apart on the same chromosome are likely to still assort independently because
of recombination events that occurred in the intervening chromosomal space.
Whether or not they are sorting independently, genes may interact at the level of gene products, such that the expression of
an allele for one gene masks or modifies the expression of an allele for a different gene. This is called epistasis.

ART CONNECTION QUESTIONS

1. Figure 8.9 In pea plants, round peas (R) are dominant green (y). What are the possible genotypes and phenotypes
to wrinkled peas (r). You do a test cross between a pea for a cross between PpYY and ppYy pea plants? How many
plant with wrinkled peas (genotype rr) and a plant of squares would you need to complete a Punnett square
unknown genotype that has round peas. You end up with analysis of this cross?
three plants, all which have round peas. From this data, 3. Figure 8.16 What ratio of offspring would result from a
can you tell if the parent plant is homozygous dominant or cross between a white-eyed male and a female that is
heterozygous? heterozygous for red eye color?
2. Figure 8.10 In pea plants, purple flowers (P) are
dominant to white (p), and yellow peas (Y) are dominant to

REVIEW QUESTIONS
4. Imagine that you are performing a cross involving seed c. AB, Ab, aB, ab
color in garden pea plants. What traits would you expect to d. AB, ab
observe in the F1 offspring if you cross true-breeding 9. What is the reason for doing a test cross?
parents with green seeds and yellow seeds? Yellow seed a. to identify heterozygous individuals with the
color is dominant over green. dominant phenotype
a. only yellow-green seeds b. to determine which allele is dominant and which
b. only yellow seeds is recessive
c. 1:1 yellow seeds:green seeds c. to identify homozygous recessive individuals in
d. 1:3 green seeds:yellow seeds the F2
5. Imagine that you are performing a cross involving seed d. to determine if two genes assort independently
texture in garden pea plants. You cross true-breeding 10. If black and white true-breeding mice are mated and
round and wrinkled parents to obtain F1 offspring. Which the result is all gray offspring, what inheritance pattern
of the following experimental results in terms of numbers would this be indicative of?
of plants are closest to what you expect in the F2 progeny? a. dominance
b. codominance
a. 810 round seeds
c. multiple alleles
b. 810 wrinkled seeds
d. incomplete dominance
c. 405:395 round seeds:wrinkled seeds
d. 610:190 round seeds:wrinkled seeds 11. The ABO blood groups in humans are expressed as
6. The observable traits expressed by an organism are the IA, IB, and i alleles. The IA allele encodes the A blood
described as its ________. group antigen, IB encodes B, and i encodes O. Both A and
a. phenotype B are dominant to O. If a heterozygous blood type A
b. genotype parent (IAi) and a heterozygous blood type B parent (IBi)
c. alleles mate, one quarter of their offspring are expected to have
d. zygote the AB blood type (IAIB) in which both antigens are
7. A recessive trait will be observed in individuals that are expressed equally. Therefore, ABO blood groups are an
________ for that trait. example of:
a. heterozygous a. multiple alleles and incomplete dominance
b. homozygous or heterozygous b. codominance and incomplete dominance
c. homozygous c. incomplete dominance only
d. diploid d. multiple alleles and codominance
8. What are the types of gametes that can be produced by 12. In a cross between a homozygous red-eyed female
an individual with the genotype AaBb? fruit fly and a white-eyed male fruit fly, what is the
a. Aa, Bb expected outcome?
b. AA, aa, BB, bb a. all white-eyed male offspring

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Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance 197

b. all white-eyed female offspring a. 3

c. all red-eyed offspring b. 6
d. half white-eyed make offspring c. 10
d. 16
13. When a population has a gene with four alleles
circulating, how many possible genotypes are there?

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

14. Describe one of the reasons that made the garden pea 16. Use a Punnett square to predict the offspring in a cross
an excellent choice of model system for studying between a tall pea plant (heterozygous) and a tall pea plant
inheritance. (heterozygous). What is the genotypic ratio of the
offspring?
15. Use a Punnett square to predict the offspring in a cross
between a dwarf pea plant (homozygous recessive) and a 17. Can a male be a carrier of red-green color blindness?
tall pea plant (heterozygous). What is the phenotypic ratio 18. Could an individual with blood type O (genotype ii)
of the offspring? be a legitimate child of parents in which one parent had
blood type A and the other parent had blood type B?
198 Chapter 8 | Patterns of Inheritance

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