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CYTOPLASMIC / EXTRA-NUCLEAR INHERITANCE
While nuclear genes play a major role in inheritance, cellular metabolism, and development,
they are not the only carriers of hereditary information. Experimental evidence shows that
extranuclear DNA—found in the cytoplasm of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells—also
contributes to inheritance. Examples include plasmids in bacteria like E. coli and DNA in
mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells. Additionally, endosymbionts such as
certain viruses, bacteria, and algae within eukaryotic cells may serve as hereditary elements.
These extranuclear genetic materials follow inheritance patterns distinct from Mendelian
inheritance, and are referred to as non-Mendelian, non-chromosomal, uniparental, maternal,
extra-chromosomal, cytoplasmic, or extranuclear inheritance.
1. Evidence for Cytoplasmic Inheritance
Traits with extra-nuclear (cytoplasmic) inheritance show patterns different from Mendelian
inheritance. The key signs include:
Egg contributes almost all the cytoplasm to the zygote, sperm contributes mostly the
nucleus. This is clearly the basis for uniparental or maternal inheritance where the
progeny always resembles one parent, most commonly the female parent e.g., shell
coiling in Limnaea peregra (snail).
Differences in reciprocal crosses which cannot be attributed to sex-linkage or some
other chromosomal basis tend to implicate extranuclear factors (e.g., chloroplast
inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa).
Sometimes only one parent’s traits are inherited, even when both gametes contribute
equally. Streptomycin resistance in Chlamydomonas.
Deviations from expected Mendelian ratios hint at cytoplasmic inheritance.
Mitochondrial inheritance in yeast.
When the trait fails to show linkage to any known nuclear linkage groups and assort
independently from nuclear genes, a cytoplasmic mode of inheritance is suggested.
The cytoplasmic inheritance, therefore, will be understood to be based on cytoplasmically
located, independent, self-replicating nucleic acids, which differ from chromosomal genes by
their location within the cell, and have their own nucleotide sequences. The smallest heritable
extra chromosomal unit is called a plasmagene. All of the plasmagenes of a cell constitute
the plasmon.
2. Maternal Inheritance
In certain cases, it has been observed that certain characteristic phenotypic traits of F1
, F2 or F3 progeny are not the expression of their own genes, but rather those of the
maternal parents. Offsprings show traits based on the mother’s genotype, not their
own.
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Reason: Mother’s mRNA, tRNA, rRNA (made during oogenesis) affect early
development before zygotic transcription starts.
Example a: Shell Coiling in Snails (Limnaea peregra)
Shells can coil clockwise (dextral) or counterclockwise (sinistral).
Coiling direction is determined by mother’s genotype, not the offspring’s.
Gene for sinistrality (S) is recessive, dextrality (S⁺) is dominant. The eggs of a
homozygous sinistral individual (SS) are fertilized by the sperm of a dextral
individual (S+S+), the eggs cleave sinistrally and all the snails of this F1 generation
show a sinistral coiling of the shell. Thus, the gene of sperm (S+) do not manifest
themselves, although the genotype of the F1 generation is S+S.
Key Point: Coiling depends on orientation of the mitotic spindle, which is set by
ooplasm (maternal cytoplasm).
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3. Organelle-Based Inheritance (Mitochondria & Chloroplasts)
Mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own DNA and replicate independently.
The genetic materials of chloroplasts and mitochondria will be transmitted to
offspring almost exclusively via the egg. Maternal inheritance due to chloroplast and
mitochondria is well illustrated by the following example
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Origin believed to be endosymbiotic prokaryotes. This has been supported by the
fact that the genetic components of these organelle are often similar to those found in
prokaryotes. Such as
Circular DNA like bacteria.
70S ribosomes.
Starts protein synthesis with N-formyl methionine.
RNA polymerase sensitive to rifampicin.
Examples of Organelle-Based Cytoplasmic Inheritance
a. Chloroplast Inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa (Four o’clock plant) described by C.
Correns in 1908
Mirabilis contains three types of leaves and parts :
(1) Full green leaves or branches having chloroplast,
(2) White (pale) leaves and branches having no chloroplast,
(3) Variegated branches having leukoplast in white (pale) areas and chloroplast in
green patches
Green branches → Green offspring.
White branches → White offspring (die due to no chlorophyll).
Variegated branches → Mix of green, white, and variegated offspring. White or pale
parts of plant survive by receiving nourishment from green parts.
Correns reported that flowers on green branches produced only green offsprings,
regardless of the genotype and phenotype of pollen parent and likewise, flowers from
the white or pale branches produced only white or pale seedings regardless of
genotype and phenotype of pollen parent. The plants developing from the white or
pale seedings die because they lack chlorophyll and cannot carry on photosynthesis.
Reason: Plastids are passed via egg, not pollen. Pollen has little/no plastids.
Mitotic Segregation explains variegated traits: cells inherit different plastid types
during mitosis. Variegated branches of Mirabilis jalapa produce three kinds of eggs :
some contain only white chloroplasts, some contain only green chloroplasts and some
contain both types of chloroplasts. In the subsequent mitotic divisions, some form of
cytoplasmic segregation occurs that segregate the chloroplast types into pure cell
lines, thus, producing the variegated phenotype in the progeny individual. This
process of sorting might be described as “mitotic segregation” of this is a pure extra-
nuclear phenomenon. In mitotic segregation since both segregation and recombination
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of organelle genotype takes place, so it is called cytoplasmic segregation and
recombination (its acronym is CSAR).
