Transcript Peas in a Pod: The Story of Heredity

Peas in a Pod: The Story of Heredity
What determines the
type of ice cream
that you prefer;
childhood
experience and
exposure to the
flavor or your
inherited traits?
PTC (phenylthiocarbamide)
The ability to taste PTC (or not) is conveyed by a single
gene that codes for a taste receptor on the tongue. The
PTC gene, TAS2R38, was discovered in 2003. Studies
suggest a correlation between the ability to taste PTC and
preferences for certain types of food (“PTC: Genes,” n.d.)
Are you a taster
or a
non-taster?
The PTC gene has about 85% of
the total influence over whether
someone is a taster or a non-taster
(“PTC: Gene,” n.d).
Environmental factors can
influence PTC tasting.
Inherited vs Acquired Traits
inherited trait: a genetically determined
characteristic or quality that distinguishes
someone or something
Inherited traits are passed in DNA from
parents to their offspring.
Kahoot!
acquired trait: develops during the lifetime
of the organism but are not in the
organism’s DNA and are not inherited by
its offspring
Acquired traits are often learned.
Dominant
and Recessive
Genes
Dominant + Dominant = Dominant
Dominant + Recessive = Dominant
Recessive + Recessive = Recessive