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In biology, polymorphism [1] is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative phenotypes, in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the same time and belong to a panmictic population (one with random mating).
In 1973, M. J. D. White, then at the end of a long career investigating karyotypes, gave an interesting summary of the distribution of chromosome polymorphism. "It is extremely difficult to get an adequate idea as to what fraction of the species of eukaryote organisms actually are polymorphic for structural rearrangements of the chromosomes.
Polymorphisms can be identified in the laboratory using a variety of methods. Many methods employ PCR to amplify the sequence of a gene. Once amplified, polymorphisms and mutations in the sequence can be detected by DNA sequencing, either directly or after screening for variation with a method such as single strand conformation polymorphism analysis.
Polymorphism is a general concept in biology where more than one version of a trait is present in a population. In some cases of differing counts, the difference in chromosome counts is the result of a single chromosome undergoing fission , where it splits into two smaller chromosomes, or two undergoing fusion, where two chromosomes join to ...
For example, Huntington disease is an autosomal dominant condition, but up to 25% of individuals with the affected genotype will not develop symptoms until after age 50. [17] Another factor that can complicate Mendelian inheritance patterns is variable expressivity , in which individuals with the same genotype show different signs or symptoms ...
Examples of such traits include flowering time, drought tolerance, polymorphism, mimicry, and avoidance of attacks by predators. [2] [citation needed] Research usually involves a mixture of field and laboratory studies. [3] Samples of natural populations may be taken back to the laboratory for their genetic variation to be analyzed.
Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three morphological types of flowers, termed "morphs", exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. The flower morphs differ in the lengths of the pistil and stamens, and these traits are not continuous.
Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP or sometimes T-RFLP) is a molecular biology technique for profiling of microbial communities based on the position of a restriction site closest to a labelled end of an amplified gene.