Phenotypic Distribution of Polygenic Traits and Allele Frequency for Introductory BiologyJohn Brady and Travis CurryBrebeuf Jesuit Preparatory SchoolIndianapolis IN

Website:

Phenotypic Distribution of Polygenic Traits•Phenotype- Observable Traits

•Examples:

•Polygenic Trait- phenotype is dependent on alleles at many different genes

•Examples:

Why Garlic Mustard?•Abundant on

campus

•Invasive species

•Relates to other content like populations, competition, biodiversity, evolution.

Environmental Literacy“…the capacity of an individual to act successfully in daily life on a

broad understanding of how people and societies relate to

each other and to natural systems, and how they might do

so sustainably.” http://www.fundee.org/facts/envlit/whatisenvlit.htm

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Height of Garlic Mustard Plants Collected at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Demonstrating Normal

Distribution

Series1Polynomial (Series1)

Height of Garlic Mustard Plants (cm)

Number of Garlic Mustard Plants

Oh Deer: Allele Frequency “Mate or Die”

Background•Project Wild “Oh Deer” activity : used to

demonstrate competition for scarce resources limiting populations: Project Wild

•Illustration of variation leading to differential fitness success in a wild population

•Just add some alleles and mating and it is easy to demonstrate directional and stabilizing selection in a population.

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Figure 1: Allelic frequency for the dominant "hobbling" mutation (N) and the recessive "normal" mutation (n)

over nine generations of "Mate or Die"

Frequency NFrequency n

Generations of "deer" Population

Alle

le F

requ

ency

Thank You!•John Brady: jbrady@brebeuf.org

•Travis Curry: tcurry@brebeuf.org

•Website: http://tcurry1977.edublogs.org/