Skip to main content

General Biology II: Overall phenotypes: putting it all together

General Biology II
Overall phenotypes: putting it all together
    • Notifications
    • Privacy
  • Project HomeNatural Sciences Collection: Anatomy, Biology, and Chemistry
  • Projects
  • Learn more about Manifold

Notes

Show the following:

  • Annotations
  • Resources
Search within:

Adjust appearance:

  • font
    Font style
  • color scheme
  • Margins
table of contents
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Table Of Contents
  5. Reference Information
  6. The Process of Science
  7. 3. Biological Molecules
  8. 4. Structure of DNA
  9. 5. DNA Replication
  10. 6. Protein Synthesis
    1. 6.1 What are proteins and what do they do?
    2. 6.2 What is a gene?
    3. 6.3 How do genes direct the production of proteins?
    4. 6.4 Transcription: from DNA to mRNA
    5. 6.5 Eukaryotic RNA Processing
    6. 6.6 Translation
    7. 6.7 The Genetic Code
    8. Optional Section - Micropigs
  11. 7. Mutations
    1. How Gene Mutations Occur
    2. Intro to Genetic Disorders
    3. Do all gene affect health and development?
    4. Types of Mutations
    5. Changes in Numbers of Genes
    6. Changes in Chromosome Number
    7. Complex Multifactorial Disorders
    8. Genetic Predispositions
    9. Genetics and Statistics
  12. Gene Regulation
    1. 8.1 Prokaryotic versus Eukaryotic Gene Expression
    2. 8.2 What is the epigenome?
    3. 8.3 Alternative RNA splicing
  13. 9. Biotechnology
    1. 9.1 Manipulating Genetic Material
    2. 9.2 Cloning
    3. 9.3 Genetic Engineering
    4. 9.4 Biotechnology in Medicine and Agriculture
    5. 9.5 Genomics and Proteomics
    6. 9.6 Applying Genomics
    7. 9.7 Proteomics
  14. 10. Cell Division - Binary Fission and Mitosis
    1. 10.1 Prokaryotic Cell Division
    2. 10.2 Eukaryotic Cell Division
    3. 10.3 Control of the Cell Cycle
    4. 10.4 Cancer and the Cell Cycle
  15. 11. Meiosis
    1. 11.1 Sexual Reproduction
    2. 11.2 Overview of Meiosis
    3. 11.3 Interphase
    4. 11.4 Meiosis I
    5. 11.5 Meiosis II
    6. 11.6 Comparing Meiosis and Mitosis
    7. 11.7 Errors in Meiosis
  16. 12. Patterns of Inheritance
    1. 12.1 Mendelian Genetics
    2. 12.2 Garden Pea Characteristics Revealed the Basics of Heredity
    3. 12.3 Phenotypes and Genotypes
    4. 12.4 Monohybrid Cross and the Punnett Square
    5. 12.5 Laws of Inheritance
    6. 12.6 Extensions of the Laws of Inheritance
    7. 12.7 Multiple Alleles
    8. 12.8 Sex-Linked Traits
    9. 12.9 Linked Genes Violate the Law of Independent Assortment
    10. 12.10 Epistasis
  17. Genetics: Dog Coat Color
    1. Introduction to Genetics
    2. Pedigrees and Punnett Squares
    3. Black fur color: a dominant trait
    4. Yellow fur color: a recessive trait
    5. Epistasis: the relationship between black, brown, and yellow fur
    6. Brindle color: partial dominance and epistasis
    7. Incomplete dominance: when traits blend
    8. White spotting: When there's more than two alleles
    9. Hemophilia: a sex-linked disorder
    10. Overall phenotypes: putting it all together
    11. Additional complexity
    12. It's not all in the genes

Overall phenotypes: putting it all together

None of the genes discussed in these sections occur in isolation: one individual dog would have all the genes for color, hair structure, and hemoglobin (dogs can get hemophilia too). Genes interact together to produce the overall phenotype of the individual.

Example 1: Sugar

For example, look at Sugar in Figure 26. She has short hair that is mostly white. The colored portion of her hair is the tiger-striped pattern termed “brindle.”

12.sugar
Figure 26: Sugar has short hair with colored spots. (Credit: Lisa Bartee)

The difference between short and long hair in dogs is caused by different alleles of a gene called FGF5. This gene produces a protein that is important in regulating the hair growth cycle. When the protein doesn’t function correctly, the growth phase of the hair cycle is longer, resulting in long hair. Short hair is the dominant trait. Since Sugar has short hair, we know she has at least one dominant allele of FGF5. We can use the letter “S” for short hair. Sugar’s genotype for FGF5 is therefore “S-“, meaning she has one dominant allele and we can’t tell by looking at her what her second allele is.

Sugar’s hair is also straight, which means that she has two straight alleles of KRT71. Her genotype would be K+K+.

Sugar is more than 50% white with irregular splashes of color, which means that her genotype for MITF (the gene that controls white spotting) is sise.

The brindle pattern is caused by the kbr allele at the K locus. Sugar can’t have the KB allele or she would have solid color instead of the brindle pattern because KB is dominant over kbr and ky. She could have either the genotype kbrkbr or kbrky, since the kbr allele is dominant over the yellow allele (ky).

Sugar has black eumelanin pigment in her hair and nose. This means she has the dominant phenotype for TYPR1, so her genotype would be “B-“. Because she has eumelanin and not pheomelanin in her coat, she has the dominant phenotype for MC1R, so her genotype would be “E-“.

Sugar is a female dog who does not have hemophilia. This means that her genotype would be either XHXH or XHXh.

Putting all these together, we could say that Sugar’s overall coat genotype is S- K+K+ sise B- E- XHX–

We could potentially determine some of the unknown alleles in her genotype if we knew anything about her parents, but Sugar was adopted from the Multnomah County Animal Shelter after being picked up as a stray. Therefore, her ancestry is unknown.

Example 2: Rags

Rags
Figure 27: Rags is similar in color to Sugar, but has a very different fur type. (Credit: Lisa Bartee)

Rags has “furnishings”, a term used to describe his beard and mustache. Furnishings are caused by a mutation in the RSPO2 gene. This gene produces a protein that is involved in establishing hair follicles. The allele that leads to furnishings is dominant over the allele for no furnishings. Rags must therefore have the genotype “F-” at RSPO2. This allele also causes the long-ish hair on his legs and tail.

GeneGenotypePhenotype
RSPO2FF or Ffhas furnishings
FGF5SS or Ssshort fur (his longer fur is caused by the furnishings allele)
KRT71K+K+straight fur
MITFsisemore than 50% white
K locusKBKB, KBkbr, or KBkySolid color, not brindle or yellow.
TYRP1BB or BbProduces black eumelanin, not brown
MC1REE or EeProduces eumelanin instead of pheomelanin
F8XHYMale, no hemophilia

Example 3: Black poodle

12.Pudel_Grossschwarz
Figure : Black poodle. (Credit: B. Schoener from Wikimedia)
GeneGenotypePhenotype
RSPO2ffno furnishings
FGF5sslong fur
KRT71KcKccurly fur
MITFSSentirely solid color
K locusKBKB, KBkbr, or KBkySolid color, not brindle or yellow.
TYRP1BB or BbProduces black eumelanin, not brown
MC1REE or EeProduces eumelanin instead of pheomelanin

Example 4: Golden Retriever

12.Golden_Retriever_Carlos_(10581910556)
Figure : Golden Retriever. (Credit: Dirk Vorderstraße)
GeneGenotypePhenotype
RSPO2ffno furnishings
FGF5sslong fur
KRT71K+K+straight fur
MITFSSentirely solid color
K locusKBKB, KBkbr, or KBkySolid color, not brindle or yellow.
TYRP1BB or BbProduces black eumelanin, not brown (seen in the nose)
MC1ReeProduces pheomelanin instead of eumelanin, so appears yellow

References

Unless otherwise noted, images on this page are licensed under CC-BY 4.0 by OpenStax.

Annotate

Next Chapter
Additional complexity
PreviousNext
Biology
Copyright © 2016 by Lisa Bartee and Christine Anderson. Mt Hood Community College Biology 102 by Lisa Bartee and Christine Anderson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Powered by Manifold Scholarship. Learn more at
Opens in new tab or windowmanifoldapp.org