In this activity, students explore concepts covered in the short film Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture about the genetic variations associated with lactose tolerance/intolerance and how the trait is inherited in families.

In this two-part activity, students analyze the same Finnish family pedigrees that researchers studied to understand the pattern of inheritance of lactose tolerance/intolerance. They also examine portions of DNA sequence near the lactase gene to identify specific mutations associated with lactose tolerance. In Part 1, students determine the pattern of inheritance, and in Part 2, the responsible mutation.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.