Overview
Gregor Mendel, through hard work and serendipity, stumbled upon the basic mechanism of inheritance. Over a period of many years, Mendel crossed different varieties of peas and took detailed notes on the characteristics of the parents and offspring of each cross. Mendel noticed that when he crossed certain varieties of peas, the results differed in a predictable way from when he crossed different varieties of peas. Over time, he was able to deduce patterns of inheritance in plants exhibiting a single variable trait and in plants exhibiting two variable traits. The luck in his endeavor was that Mendel chose to work with plants that expressed traits that were expressed by a single gene.
Student Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this lab, students will be able to:
- Use Punnett squares to predict the phenotype and genotype of mono- and dihybrid crosses
As an introduction to this section, please watch the following video then take the quiz (Laulima>Tests and Quizzes>7.1 Mendelian Genetics Quiz). The quiz is due at 11:55 PM the night before your next lab (e.g., Quiz 1 is due at 11:55PM the night before your scheduled Lab 2 start time).
Graph of the Day
Part 1: Review of Transmission Genetics and Punnett Squares
Part 2: MIT Star Genetics
1. Meiosis and Mendel’s Law of Segregation
2. Mendel’s Pea’s Exercise 1 – Part 1
3. Mendel’s Peas Exercise 1 – Part 2
4. Dihybrid Crosses
Exit Ticket
- How does what you covered today relate to what you are learning in the lecture?
- What is the most helpful thing you learned today?
- What is the least helpful thing we covered today?
- What question(s) about today’s subject do you still have?