hereditary traits
Heredity is the passing of traits from parents to offspring. This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause forms of evolution. The study of heredity in biology is called genetics. There are two sets of chromosomes, 23 and 23, which equals to a complete set of 46 chromosomes for the child.
traits
What are traits?
Traits are notable features or quality in a person
What defines our traits?
There are non-genetic or environmental influences in our lives that affect the defining of traits and they may even entirely change a trait!
For physical traits, our genes determine our natural hair colour but it can be changed if it is overexposed to the sun, chemicals or even if it is dyed.
For behavioural traits, the natural instinct for Golden Retrievers are to chase things and fetch them back, but Man can train them to roll over and “play dead” instead.
For predisposition to a medical condition, a person born with an increased risk of heart disease can reduce the risk by eating healthy foods or regularly exercising.
How are traits determined?
An example is the straight and hitchhiker’s thumbs.
Let’s say that the Straight thumb is H and the Hitchhiker’s thumb is h.
H+H will end up being H (straight), while h+h will end up being h (hitchhiker).
To describing two of the same allele (the set of genetic information for each form) for a trait is called Homozygous.
BUT, what about people with one of each allele (H=h)? The two different alleles will interact and for the thumb extension trait, the H allele will mask the h allele. Thus, people with H+h will end up with straight thumbs. The term used to describe two different alleles is heterozygous.
In this case, H is Dominant and h is recessive.
The traits are then passed on with the different combinations from parents to each child they have. For example, Hh mother and Hh father can pass on the traits in a HH, Hh or hh combination.
But not all traits are inherited so simply. The thumb extension is a well-defined physical trait. There are many traits that are more complex and cannot be tracked easily from generations to generations. Alleles then also work together and produce Incomplete Dominance. For example cross breeding a white and red carnation can lead to the production of a pink carnation.
Traits are notable features or quality in a person
What defines our traits?
There are non-genetic or environmental influences in our lives that affect the defining of traits and they may even entirely change a trait!
For physical traits, our genes determine our natural hair colour but it can be changed if it is overexposed to the sun, chemicals or even if it is dyed.
For behavioural traits, the natural instinct for Golden Retrievers are to chase things and fetch them back, but Man can train them to roll over and “play dead” instead.
For predisposition to a medical condition, a person born with an increased risk of heart disease can reduce the risk by eating healthy foods or regularly exercising.
How are traits determined?
An example is the straight and hitchhiker’s thumbs.
Let’s say that the Straight thumb is H and the Hitchhiker’s thumb is h.
H+H will end up being H (straight), while h+h will end up being h (hitchhiker).
To describing two of the same allele (the set of genetic information for each form) for a trait is called Homozygous.
BUT, what about people with one of each allele (H=h)? The two different alleles will interact and for the thumb extension trait, the H allele will mask the h allele. Thus, people with H+h will end up with straight thumbs. The term used to describe two different alleles is heterozygous.
In this case, H is Dominant and h is recessive.
The traits are then passed on with the different combinations from parents to each child they have. For example, Hh mother and Hh father can pass on the traits in a HH, Hh or hh combination.
But not all traits are inherited so simply. The thumb extension is a well-defined physical trait. There are many traits that are more complex and cannot be tracked easily from generations to generations. Alleles then also work together and produce Incomplete Dominance. For example cross breeding a white and red carnation can lead to the production of a pink carnation.
forms of traits
Physical traits are characteristics of one’s physical makeup. These include hair colour, eye colour and height, earlobes, ability to roll tongue, dimples, left or right handedness, freckles, curly or straight hair, window peaks, normal vision or simulated colour blindness and crossing the left or right thumb over when clasping hands.
Behavioural traits are characteristics of the way one acts. For example, a sheepdog’s herding instinct and a golden retriever’s desire to fetch are a few good examples of behavioural traits.
Predisposition to a medical condition, the genetic disorders. An increased risk of getting a certain type of disease is also a type of trait that can be passed down from parent to child. Some examples are Down syndrome, Huntington’s disease, haemophilia, heart disease, cancer and certain types of mental illnesses
Behavioural traits are characteristics of the way one acts. For example, a sheepdog’s herding instinct and a golden retriever’s desire to fetch are a few good examples of behavioural traits.
Predisposition to a medical condition, the genetic disorders. An increased risk of getting a certain type of disease is also a type of trait that can be passed down from parent to child. Some examples are Down syndrome, Huntington’s disease, haemophilia, heart disease, cancer and certain types of mental illnesses
Sources:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Genetics/Pages/Facts.aspx
http://health.kioskea.net/contents/allergies/22_les-allergies-et-l-heredite.php3
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designer_baby
http://yoelnatanbooks.blogspot.sg/2007/06/interesting-dna-facts-about-heredity_08.html
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Genetics/Pages/Facts.aspx
http://health.kioskea.net/contents/allergies/22_les-allergies-et-l-heredite.php3
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designer_baby
http://yoelnatanbooks.blogspot.sg/2007/06/interesting-dna-facts-about-heredity_08.html