What Is Genetics?
Genetics is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. Humans began
applying knowledge of genetics in prehistory with the domestication and breeding of plants and
animals. In modern research, genetics provides important tools in the investigation of the
function of a particular gene, e.g. analysis of genetic interactions. Within organisms, genetic
information generally is carried in chromosomes, where it is represented in the chemical
structure of particular DNA molecules.
Genes encode the information necessary for synthesizing proteins, which, in turn play a large
role in influencing, although, in many instances, do not completely determine, the final
phenotype of the organism. The phrase to code for is often used to mean a gene contains the
instructions on how to build a particular protein, as in the gene codes for the protein. Note that
the "one gene, one protein" concept is now known to be simplistic. For example, a single gene
may produce multiple products, depending on how its transcription is regulated.
Areas of genetics Classical genetics Main articles: Classical genetics, Mendelian inheritance
Classical genetics consists of the techniques and methodologies of genetics that predate the
advent of molecular biology. After the discovery of the genetic code and such tools of cloning as
restriction enzymes, 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, such as the Mendel's laws.
The Father of Genetics
Gregor Johann Mendel was born on July 22, 1822 in Moravia, Austria. He had his early
education in a monastery in Brunn, Austria (now Brno in Czechoslovakia) and later studied
science and mathematics at the University of Vienna. He graduated in 1840. Mendel returned
to the monastery in Brno as a monk. He worked as a teacher of physics and natural science in a
Higher Secondary School of Brno during 1854 to 1868. He was appointed abbot of the
monastery in 1868 and held this post till his death.
Mendel carried out his legendary experiments on garden pea plants in the monastery garden
from 1857 to 1865. He had a clear perspective and worked on the experiments with precision
and thoroughness. He published his research paper containing his observations and conclusions
in 1866 in the annual proceedings of the Natural History Society of Brunn. These conclusions
are now known as Mendel’s Laws. This work is a classic in biology for its elegance and simplicity
and ranks amongst the most outstanding biological contributions of all times.
But unfortunately, this work failed to attract the attention of the biologists of that time. Hence,
it went ignored for 35 years. One of the possible reasons for such neglect was the inability of
the biologists of that time to understand and appreciate the statistical approach adapted by
Mendel. Thus, Mendel was left bitterly disappointed, and died an unrecognized in 1884.
Sixteen years after Mendel's death, in 1900, Hugo de Vries (Holland), Karl Korrens (Germany)
and Von Tschermark (Austria) independently arrived at similar conclusions as those of Mendel.
De Vries rediscovered the research paper of Mendel and it was published again in 1901. The
experiments on heredity of plants and animals since then have confirmed that Mendel's laws of
heredity are applicable to other organisms as well. They form the basis of modern genetics.
Hence, Mendel is called The Father of Genetics.
Mendelian Inheritance
Mendelian inheritance is a set of primary tenets relating to the transmission
of hereditary characteristics from parent organisms to their offspring; it underlies much
of genetics. They were initially derived from the work of Gregor Mendel published in 1865 and
1866 which was "re-discovered" in 1900, and were initially very controversial. When they were
integrated with the chromosome theory of inheritanceby Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1915, they
became the core of classical genetics.
Non-Mendelian Inheritance
Non-Mendelian inheritance is a general term that refers to any pattern of inheritance in which
traits do not segregate in accordance with Mendel’s laws. These laws describe the inheritance
of traits linked to single genes on chromosomes in the nucleus. In Mendelian inheritance, each
parent contributes one of two possible alleles for a trait. If the genotypes of both parents in a
genetic cross are known, Mendel’s laws can be used to determine the distribution of
phenotypes expected for the population of offspring. There are several situations in which the
proportions of phenotypes observed in the progeny do not match the predicted values.
Although inheritance of traits in fungi, viruses, and bacteria are all non-Mendelian, the phrase
"non-Mendelian inheritance" is usually only used to describe the exceptions which occur
in eukaryotic reproduction.
Non-Mendelian inheritance plays a role in several disease processes.
