Current Affairs 12th Class

Sex chromosomes of some animals and man besides having genes for sex character also possess gene for non sexual (somatic) characters. These genes for non sexual characters being linked with sex chromosomes are carried with them from one generation to the other. Such non-sexual (somatic) characters linked with sex chromosomes are called sex linked characters or traits, genes for such characters are called sex linked genes and the inheritance of such characters is called sex linked inheritance. The concept of sex-linked inheritance was introduced by T. H. Morgan in 1910, while working on Drosophila melanogaster. Genes for sex linked characters occur in both segments of X and Y chromosomes. Many sex linked characters (About 120) are found in man. Such characters are mostly recessive. Types of sex linked inheritance (1) Diandric sex linked or X linked traits : Genes for these characters are located on non-homologous segment of X chromosome. Alleles of these genes do not occur on Y chromosome. Genes of such characters are transferred from father to his daughter and from his daughter to her sons in F2 generation. This is known as Cris-cross inheritance. As the genes for most sex linked characters are located in X chromosome, they are called X-linked characters e.g., colour blindness and haemophilia in man and eye colour in Drosophila. Sex linked inheritance in Drosophila : Drosophila melanogaster has XX and XY sex chromosomes in the female and male respectively. Its eye colour is sex linked. Allele of the eye colour gene is located in the X chromosome, and there is no corresponding allele in the Y chromosome. The male expresses a sex-linked recessive trait even if it has a single gene for it, whereas the female expresses such a trait only if it has two genes for it. The normal eye colour is red and is dominant over the mutant white eye colour. The following crosses illustrate the inheritance of X-linked eye colour in Drosophila. Sex linked inheritance in man : Colour blindness and Haemophila are the two main sex linked or X-linked disease are found in man. Colour blindness : Person unable to distinguish certain colours are called colour blind. Several types of colour blindness are known but the most common one is ‘red-green colour blindness’. It has been described by Horner (1876). The red blindness is called protanopia and the green blindness deutoranopia. X-chromosome possesses a normal gene which control the formation of colour sensitive cells in the retina. Its recessive allele fails to do its job properly and results in colour blindness. These alleles are present in X chromosome.   Inheritance of colourblindness
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Twins : Two birth occurring at the same time in human are called twins, they are of peculiar genetic interest. The hereditary basis of a number of human traits has been established by the study of twins. There are 3 kinds of twins. (1) Identical or monozygotic twins : Identical twins are formed when one sperm fertilizes one egg to form a single zygote. They have the same genotype and phenotype and are of same sex. Differences if any, may be due to different environmental conditions. (2) Siamese twins or conjoint twins : Like monozygotic twins, siamese twins also originate from one zygote but the daughter cells formed as a result of first cleavage  fail to separate completely and they remain joined at some point. They were first studied in the country Siam, hence called Siamese twins. Siamese twins usually do not survive after birth although a few cases of their survival are well known. They are always of the same sex, same genotype and phenotype. (3) Fraternal twins : They are dizygotic twins formed from the two eggs fertilized by two sperms separately but at the same time. They may be both males, both females or one male and one female. They may have different genotypic constitution and different phenotype. Intelligence quotient (IQ) : The ratio between actual (chronological) age and mental age multiplied with 100 is known as I.Q. Intelligence quotient is the mental competence in relation to chronological age in man. It can be denoted by following formula. \[I.Q.=\frac{\text{Mental age}}{\text{Actual age}}\times 100\] By applying this formula we can easily calculate the IQ, such as if a 10 year child has mental age 14, his IQ will be \[I.Q.=\frac{14}{10}\times 100=140\]    
I.Q. Person I.Q. Person
0 - 24 Idiot 90  - 109 Average
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