NCERT Solution: Heredity and Evolution
If a trait A exists in 10% of a population of an asexually reproducing species and a trait B exists in 60% of the same population, which trait is likely to have arisen earlier?
Sol. Trait B is likely to have arisen earlier because it is present in a larger portion of the population.
Variations take place in response to the changes in the environment. Such variations enable a species to cope with the new changes. Thus, variations help a species in survival.
Depending on the nature of variations different individuals would have difference kinds of advantage to adjust in particular habitat. Variation help the individual to have different traits that may develop the organisms more tolerable.
In Monohybrid cross of Mendel between tall and dwarf pea plant, all progeny in F1 generation are tall , one of the pair of traits did not appear in the F1 generation and in F2 generation, 75% of pea plants are tall but 25% are dwarf. This shows that traits are dominant or recessive.
During dihybrid cross by Mendel, it was observed that when two pairs of traits were considered; each trait expressed independent of the other.
When a pea plant having round green seeds is crossed with a pea plant having wrinkled yellow seeds in F1 generation all the plants have round yellow seeds. But in F2 generation two new traits that is round yellow and wrinkled green appear. This
shows that traits are inherited independently.
Mendel was able to propose the Law of Independent Assortment which says about independent inheritance of traits.
No. This information is not sufficient to determine which of the traits - blood group A or O - is dominant. This is because we do not know about the blood group of all the progeny.
Blood group A can be genotypically AA or AO. Hence, the information is incomplete to draw any such conclusion.
Somatic cells in human beings contain 23 pairs of chromosomes. Out of them the 23rd pair is composed of different types of chromosomes which are named as X and Y chromosomes.
In human beings, the females have two X chromosomes and the males have one X and one Y chromosome. Therefore, the females are XX and the males are XY.
The gametes, as we know, receive half of the chromosomes. The male gametes have 22 autosomes and either X or Y sex chromosome.
Type of male gametes: 22+X OR 22+ Y.
However, since the females have XX sex chromosomes, their gametes can only have X sex chromosome.
Type of female gamete: 22+X
Sex determination in humans
Thus, the mother provides only X chromosomes. The sex of the baby is determined by the type of male gamete (X or Y) that fuses with the X chromosome of the female.
Individuals with a particular trait may increase in a population as a result of
the following:
(i) Natural selection: When that trait offers some survival advantage.
(ii) Genetic drift: When some genes governing that trait become common in a population.
(iii) When that trait gets acquired during the individual's lifetime.
Acquired traits do not bring any change in the genotype of an individual. This happens because an acquired trait involves change in non-reproductive tissues (somatic cells) which cannot be passed on to germ cells or the progeny. Therefore, these traits cannot be inherited.