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Biological determinism, also known as genetic determinism, [1] is the belief that human behaviour is directly controlled by an individual's genes or some component of their physiology, generally at the expense of the role of the environment, whether in embryonic development or in learning. [2]
Epigenetic mechanisms. In biology, epigenetics is the study of heritable traits, or a stable change of cell function, that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. [1] The Greek prefix epi-(ἐπι-"over, outside of, around") in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" the traditional (DNA sequence based) genetic mechanism of inheritance. [2]
Early group selection models assumed that genes acted independently, for example a gene that coded for cooperation or altruism. Genetically based reproduction of individuals implies that, in group formation, the altruistic genes would need a way to act for the benefit of members in the group to enhance the fitness of many individuals with the ...
Epistasis is when the phenotype of one gene is affected by one or more other genes. [21] This is often through some sort of masking effect of one gene on the other. [ 22 ] For example, the "A" gene codes for hair color, a dominant "A" allele codes for brown hair, and a recessive "a" allele codes for blonde hair, but a separate "B" gene controls ...
If the genes of a gene family encode proteins, the term protein family is often used in an analogous manner to gene family. The expansion or contraction of gene families along a specific lineage can be due to chance, or can be the result of natural selection. [2] To distinguish between these two cases is often difficult in practice.
A gene is a unit of heredity and is a region of DNA that influences a particular characteristic in an organism. Genes contain an open reading frame that can be transcribed, and regulatory sequences such as promoters and enhancers, which control transcription of the open reading frame.
As of 2019, 260 imprinted genes have been reported in mice and 228 in humans. [10] Genomic imprinting is an inheritance process independent of the classical Mendelian inheritance. [11] It is an epigenetic process that involves DNA methylation and histone methylation without altering the genetic sequence.
A null allele is a gene variant that lacks the gene's normal function because it either is not expressed, or the expressed protein is inactive. For example, at the gene locus for the ABO blood type carbohydrate antigens in humans, [13] classical genetics recognizes three alleles, I A, I B, and i, which determine compatibility of blood transfusions.