BIOL1364: TUTORIAL #3 Mark Scheme

1. What are the factors that affect genotype-phenotype relationship?

List at least 3 modifying factors mainly internal and external environment (temperature,
age, sex, light, humidity, nutrients, rainfall, etc.)
2. What do you understand by the term 'modifying factors'
Factors that modify the genotype-phenotype relationship
3. Modifying factors operate through biochemical pathways explain? In other words,
phenotype-genotype relationships have a biochemical basis, explain?
Genotype and phenotype relationship explained by Central Dogma: DNA RNA
Protein. Biochemical pathways are catalyzed by enzymes (proteins) which are coded for by
genes (genotype). Modifying factors therefore largely influence the amount of enzyme
produced (transcriptional control).
4. Students should be familiar with the biochemical basis for the various interallelic
interactions - complementary epistasis, inhibitory epistasis and duplicate epistasis.
5. What are the measures of environmental influence on gene expression? What measures are
used for monogenic traits as opposed to polygenic traits?
Heritability (polygenic traits)
Gene penetrance & expressivity (monogenic traits)
6. Distinguish between gene penetrance and expressivity?
Penetrance proportion of individuals in a given population that show the expected
phenotype coded for by a particular genotype.
Expressivity The degree to which a particular gene is expressed (varying degrees of
expression for a particular gene).
7. What do you understand by pleiotropic effects of a gene?
The effect of a single gene on several different phenotypes.
8. What do you understand by the term 'additive genetic effects'?
Where each allele contributes a specific phenotypic value to the overall phenotype (i.e. the
overall phenotype is given by the sum of the effects of all alleles at gene loci controlling the
trait).

9. What is the difference between polygenic traits vs monogenic traits

Give at least 3 differences:
Polygenic
Monogenic
Minor gene traits
Major gene traits
Large environmental influence
Small environmental influence
Determined by several genes
Determined by a single gene
Additive genetic effects
Genetic effects largely due to dominance &
epistasis
Quantitative traits
Qualitative traits
Smooth, continuous, normal & symmetric
Discrete, non-symmetric distribution
distribution
Inheritance studied by partitioning
Inheritance studied by observing segregation
components of phenotypic variation
ratios

10. Distinguish clearly between heritability in the broad sense as opposed to heritability in the
narrow sense, and discuss their importance.
Hbs = Phenotypic variance due to genetics (genotype) [used as an indicator of environmental
influence]
Hns = Phenotypic variance due to additive genetic effects [used as a breeding value: H ns high
means modifying influences are small and phenotype is a good indicator of genotype; good
progress in breeding. Hns low means modifying influences are large and phenotype is not a
good indicator of genotype; poor/slow progress in breeding]

1 mark per correct question [total = 10]