Journal Question
 18 Dec 2012
 Describe the relationship between:
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DNA
Chromosomes
Genes, and
Traits
DOG DNA
 You will assigned a partner.
 You will need:
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1 paper bag with 8 gene strips
Tape
Construction paper
Markers
Trait Map
Background
 Every organism inherits a unique
combination of traits.
 DNA is a set of instructions that specifies
the traits of an organism.
 Information in the DNA molecule is divided
into segments (called genes).
 Variations in the DNA lead to the
inheritance of different traits.
 Determine the first trait of your dog (body shape) by randomly
picking a piece of dog DNA out of the envelope.
 Look at the symbols on the DNA strip you have chosen. Match
the pattern to one you see on the Dog Traits Key for body
shape.
 Write this genotype on the back of your construction paper.
 Select the next strip. This strip will be for the head shape.
Record the genotype on the back of the construction paper.
Tape this strip to the end of the first strip.
 Repeat these steps for each of the 8 traits listed on the Dog
Traits Key.
 Ultimately, you will have one long strip of dog DNA. This will
become the DNA recipe for your entire dog.
 When you have finished, draw your dog with all of its on the
front of the construction paper.
Finishing Touches
 Name your dog and put your names on the
back.
 If your dog is a male, tape the long DNA
strip to the left hand side of your dog’s
picture.
 If your dog is a female, tape the long DNA
strip to the right side of your dog’s picture.
Discussion
 A set of instructions called DNA makes a “recipe”
for traits in all organisms.
 Information in a DNA strand is grouped into small
segments. Each segment is made of even smaller
units (like recipes are made of words, and words
are made of letters).
 Differences in the DNA “alphabet” are what make
differences in traits (just like a different sequence
of letters makes different words, and a different
recipe).
Journal Question
 19 Dec 2012
 With only 8 traits and 4 possible alleles,
why do all of your dogs look different from
each other?
 Reflection on the activity
 What did you like, not like?
 What did you learn?
 What will happen when these dogs are
mated?
Journal Question
 03 Jan 2013
 How are genes and traits related?
Discussion
 The DNA molecule contains a sequence of four chemical
bases (represented here by four symbols). Each base is
referred to by the first letter of its name: Adenine (A),
Cytosine (C), Guanine (G) and Thymine (T).
 The sequence of these chemical bases encodes a detailed
set of instructions for building an organism’s traits. (The
human genome contains approximately 3 billion pairs or
bases!)
 Each one of you assembled the DNA strips in the order they
were drawn. This is because all individuals of a species have
the same genes in the same order along their chromosomes.
(This is what allows researchers to “map” the location of a
gene to a specific place on a chromosome.)
Discussion
 It is the small sequence variations within each gene that
lead to differences in traits. There is usually a limited
number of sequence variations for a gene. That is, a gene
usually comes in a few different forms or flavors, called
“alleles”.
 There was a possibility of four different alleles for each of
the dog genes in this activity.
 In this activity, a single gene determined each dog trait.
More often a trait is influenced by more than one gene as
well as environmental factors.
 Human Genome Project
 http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/poster
s/chromosome/chooser.shtml
Canine Genome
 Dogs have 78 chromosomes or ( ) pairs.
 Just like for the human genome, knowing which
genes are linked with certain diseases or
characteristics help breeders mate for healthier dogs.
During Meiosis
Body Shape
Male DNA
Head Shape
Ears
Legs
Eye Color
Tail Shape
Coat Color
Hair Type
Female DNA
Dog DNA Part 2
 Pair up a female and male dog.
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Blue is always dominant.
Green is always recessive.
Yellow is second recessive.
Pink is second dominant.
 Draw your new dog and list its traits.
 Repeat with a new mate. Use the same
sheet of paper, front and back.
Pick one
 Look over the list of traits and write a short
paragraph describing the ideal set of traits
for your dog if it were:
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A herding dog
A hunting and retrieving dog
A tracking dog
A companion dog for a disabled person in a
wheelchair
 A dog that kept small rodents out of houses
 A racing dog