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Genes are made from a long molecule called DNA, which is copied and inherited across generations. DNA is made of simple units that line up in a particular order within it, carrying genetic information. The language used by DNA is called genetic code, which lets organisms read the information in the genes. This information is the instructions ...
A gene can acquire mutations in its sequence, leading to different variants, known as alleles, in the population. These alleles encode slightly different versions of a gene, which may cause different phenotypical traits. [4] Genes evolve due to natural selection or survival of the fittest and genetic drift of the alleles.
Autosomal traits are associated with a single gene on an autosome (non-sex chromosome)—they are called "dominant" because a single copy—inherited from either parent—is enough to cause this trait to appear. This often means that one of the parents must also have the same trait, unless it has arisen due to an unlikely new mutation.
The discrete versions of the same gene controlling the inherited appearance (phenotypes) are called alleles. [19] [44] In the case of the pea, which is a diploid species, each individual plant has two copies of each gene, one copy inherited from each parent. [45] Many species, including humans, have this pattern of inheritance.
In humans, eye color is an example of an inherited characteristic: an individual might inherit the "brown-eye trait" from one of the parents. [1] Inherited traits are controlled by genes and the complete set of genes within an organism's genome is called its genotype. [2]
gene flow The transfer of genetic variation from one population to another, by any available means, e.g. by sexual reproduction, horizontal gene transfer, or retroviral integration. Gene flow is the transfer of alleles from one population to another population through the interbreeding of individual organisms belonging to the populations. gene pool
Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. [2] The number of alleles an individual can have in a specific gene depends on the number of copies of each chromosome found in that species, also referred to as ploidy. In diploid species like humans, two full sets of ...
The genetic information in a genome is held within genes, and the complete set of this information in an organism is called its genotype. A gene is a unit of heredity and is a region of DNA that influences a particular characteristic in an organism.