Classical genetics
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Classical genetics is the branch of
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...
based solely on visible results of reproductive acts. It is the oldest discipline in the field of genetics, going back to the experiments on
Mendelian inheritance Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...
by Gregor Mendel who made it possible to identify the basic mechanisms of heredity. Subsequently, these mechanisms have been studied and explained at the molecular level. Classical genetics consists of the techniques and methodologies of genetics that were in use before the advent of
molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
. A key discovery of classical genetics in
eukaryote The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...
s was
genetic linkage Genetic linkage is the tendency of Nucleic acid sequence, DNA sequences that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during the meiosis phase of sexual reproduction. Two Genetic marker, genetic markers that are physically near ...
. The observation that some
gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
s do not segregate independently at meiosis broke the laws of Mendelian inheritance and provided science with a way to map characteristics to a location on the
chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
s. Linkage maps are still used today, especially in breeding for plant improvement. After the discovery of the
genetic code Genetic code is a set of rules used by living cell (biology), cells to Translation (biology), translate information encoded within genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences of nucleotide triplets or codons) into proteins. Translation is accomplished ...
and such tools of
cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...
as
restriction enzyme A restriction enzyme, restriction endonuclease, REase, ENase or'' restrictase '' is an enzyme that cleaves DNA into fragments at or near specific recognition sites within molecules known as restriction sites. Restriction enzymes are one class o ...
s, the avenues of investigation open to geneticists were greatly broadened. Some classical genetic ideas have been supplanted with the mechanistic understanding brought by molecular discoveries, but many remain intact and in use. Classical genetics is often contrasted with reverse genetics, and aspects of molecular biology are sometimes referred to as
molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...
.


Basic definitions

At the base of classical genetics is the concept of a
gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
, the hereditary factor tied to a particular simple feature (or character). The set of genes for one or more characters possessed by an individual is the
genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
. A
diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...
individual often has two
allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...
s for the determination of a character.


Overview

Classical genetics is the aspect of
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...
concerned solely with the transmission of genetic traits via reproductive acts. Genetics is, generally, the study of genes, genetic variation, and
heredity Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...
. The process by which characteristics are passed down from parents to their offspring is called heredity. In the sense of classical genetics, variation is known as the lack of resemblance in related individuals and can be categorized as discontinuous or continuous. Genes are a fundamental part of DNA that is aligned linearly on a eukaryotic chromosome. Chemical information that is transported and encoded by each gene is referred to as a trait. Many organisms possess two genes for each individual trait that is present within that particular individual. These paired genes that control the same trait is classified as an allele. In an individual, the allelic genes that are expressed can be either homozygous, meaning the same, or heterozygous, meaning different. Many pairs of alleles have differing effects that are portrayed in an offspring's
phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...
and
genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
. The phenotype is a general term that defines an individual's visible, physical traits. The genotype of an offspring is known as its genetic makeup. The alleles of genes can either be dominant or recessive. A dominant allele needs only one copy to be expressed while a recessive allele needs two copies (homozygous) in a diploid organism to be expressed. Dominant and recessive alleles help to determine the offspring's genotypes, and therefore phenotypes.


History

Classical genetics is often referred to as the oldest form of genetics, and began with Gregor Mendel's experiments that formulated and defined a fundamental biological concept known as
Mendelian inheritance Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...
. Mendelian inheritance is the process in which genes and traits are passed from a set of parents to their offspring. These inherited traits are passed down mechanistically with one gene from one parent and the second gene from another parent in sexually reproducing organisms. This creates the pair of genes in diploid organisms. Gregor Mendel started his experimentation and study of
inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
with phenotypes of garden peas and continued the experiments with plants. He focused on the patterns of the traits that were being passed down from one generation to the next generation. This was assessed by test-crossing two peas of different colors and observing the resulting phenotypes. After determining how the traits were likely inherited, he began to expand the amount of traits observed and tested and eventually expanded his experimentation by increasing the number of different organisms he tested. About 150 years ago, Gregor Mendel published his first experiments with the test crossing of '' Pisum'' peas. Seven different phenotypic characteristics were studied and tested in the peas, including seed color, flower color and seed shape. The seven different characteristics which Mendel selected / checked for the experiment were as follows: * He checked the different shape of the ripen seeds * The color of the seed's albumen was checked * He then selected seed coat color * Shape of the ripen pods was seen * Color of the unripened pods was checked * Flower position on the axial was checked * Height of the plant was checked, as if it is tall or dwarf. Mendel took peas that had differing phenotypic characteristics and test-crossed them to assess how the parental plants passed the traits down to their offspring. He started by crossing a round, yellow and round, green pea and observed the resulting phenotypes. The results of this experiment allowed him to see which of these two traits was dominant and which was recessive based upon the number of offspring with each phenotype. Mendel then chose to further his experiments by crossing a pea plant homozygous dominant for round and yellow phenotypes with a pea plant that was homozygous recessive for wrinkled and green. The plants that were originally crossed are known as the parental generation, or P generation, and the offspring resulting from the parental cross is known as the first filial, or F1, generation. The plants of the F1 generation resulting from this hybrid cross were all heterozygous round and yellow seeds. Classical genetics is a hallmark of the start of great discovery in biology, and has led to increased understanding of multiple important components of molecular genetics, human genetics, medical genetics, and much more. Thus, reinforcing Mendel's nickname as the father of modern genetics. In other words, we can say that classical genetics is basis of the modern genetics. Classical genetics is the Mendelian genetics or the older concepts of the genetics, which solely expressed based on the phenotypes resulted from breeding experiments while the modern genetics is the new concept of genetics, which allows the direct investigation of genotypes together with phenotypes. Monohybrid Cross (3:1) Dihybrid Cross (9:3:3:1)


See also

*
Dominance (genetics) In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and ...
*
Genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
*
Phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...
* Thomas Hunt Morgan


References

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