Transmission (DNA Replication) — Definition & Overview

(Video) The Story of Fido's Physical Traits

by Wisdom Panel Canine DNA Tests

Why is your cat fluffy and white while your neighbor's cat has short calico fur? Why is your dog big with floppy ears but your best friend's dog is a tiny, little chihuahua? It's all about gene transmission or heredity.

This video examines where your furry friends' traits come from.

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DNA Transmission

Each of us inherits the traits that make us who we are from our parents.

An organism's DNA is transferred to its offspring through a process called transmission. This word is somewhat synonymous with heredity because it describes how genetic information is passed down through generations.

As you might already know, the process of meiosis produces gametes. These are sex cells, like the sperm or egg. When the egg of a female and sperm of a male combine, we call this fertilization.

During fertilization, a new cell is formed. This cell now contains a set of DNA from the sperm and a set from the egg. The interaction of the different version of genes in your genome will determine how you look and behave.

Transmission helps us understand why children often look like their parents.

How Does DNA Transmission Work?

Genes are transmitted from one generation of an organism to the next. For this to be possible, DNA from the parent organisms must be packaged and sorted carefully during cellular division. If any error is made during meiosis or mitosis, then the offspring might have some missing or messed up genetic information.

DNA can be passed down to offspring by either sexual or asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is mitosis, where a cell is divided into two identical daughter cells. Sexual reproduction is the way in which you were made. This type of reproduction is dependent on meiosis for genetic variation because it combines the DNA of two separate organisms. Basically, organisms are different from one another because their DNA is a mix of their parents'.

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$\color{#8925AE}{\text{DNA}}$ : The macromolecule that stores all of an organism's genetic information

$\color{#8925AE}{\text{Semiconservative Replication}}$ : During DNA replication, one strand is newly made and the other strand is from the original molecule

$\color{#8925AE}{\text{Transmission}}$ : How genetic information is passed down through generations

DNA's Role in Heredity

DNA is the master code for all organisms. It is the nucleic acid that contains the blueprints for making an organism. DNA makes up chromosomes, and genes are found in DNA.

DNA is what makes a person a person. The order of nucleotides in an organism's DNA results in the physical and most behavioral characteristics of an organism. Therefore, passing along DNA to an offspring through sexual reproduction ensures that you have created an organism that is 50% identical to you. Passing on DNA is the entire reason for reproduction.

DNA Transmission

DNA is passed into sex cells called gametes through the process of meiosis. The sex cells contain a single copy of the organism's genetic code. When two sex cells from different organisms come together it is called sexual reproduction. As sexual reproduction occurs, the two sex cells come together and form a zygote. A zygote is just a fertilized egg. Pollination is a form of sexual reproduction. The pollen is the sperm and the receiving flower has female parts. Flowers have both male and female parts.

There are many other forms of reproduction that are not sexual.