3. Extensions to Mendelian Inheritance

In the discussion, we focused on extranuclear inheritance and how traits can be determined by genetic information contained in mitochondria and chloroplasts, and we discussed how expression of maternal genotypes can affect the phenotype of an organism. At the same time, we found many opportunities to consider the methods and reasoning by which much of this information was acquired. From the explanations given in the chapter, what answers would you propose to the following fundamental questions?

What findings demonstrate a maternal effect as the basis of a mode of inheritance?

In the discussion, we focused on extranuclear inheritance and how traits can be determined by genetic information contained in mitochondria and chloroplasts, and we discussed how expression of maternal genotypes can affect the phenotype of an organism. At the same time, we found many opportunities to consider the methods and reasoning by which much of this information was acquired. From the explanations given in the chapter, what answers would you propose to the following fundamental questions?

What key observations in crosses between dextrally and sinistrally coiled snails support the explanation that this phenotype is the result of maternal-effect inheritance?

Write a short essay that distinguishes between organelle heredity and maternal effect.

The specification of the anterior–posterior axis in Drosophila embryos is initially controlled by various gene products that are synthesized and stored in the mature egg following oogenesis. Mutations in these genes result in abnormalities of the axis during embryogenesis, illustrating maternal effect. How do such mutations vary from those involved in organelle heredity that illustrate extranuclear inheritance? Devise a set of parallel crosses and expected outcomes involving mutant genes that contrast maternal effect and organelle heredity.