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A phenotypic trait, [1] [2] simply trait, or character state [3] [4] is a distinct variant of a phenotypic characteristic of an organism; it may be either inherited or determined environmentally, but typically occurs as a combination of the two. [5] For example, having eye color is a character of an organism, while blue, brown and hazel ...
Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. [1] [2] Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompasses all types of environmentally induced changes (e.g. morphological, physiological, behavioural, phenological) that may or may not be ...
More recently, large-scale phenotypic screens have also been used in animals, e.g. to study lesser understood phenotypes such as behavior. In one screen, the role of mutations in mice were studied in areas such as learning and memory , circadian rhythmicity , vision, responses to stress and response to psychostimulants .
The trait's frequency expands in the population, creating a population on which selection can act. Pre-existing (background) genetic variation in other genes results in phenotypic differences in expression of the new trait. These phenotypic differences undergo selection; as genotypic differences narrow, the trait becomes:
X-axis: phenotypic trait Y-axis: number of organisms Group A: original population Group B: after selection. Natural selection can act on any heritable phenotypic trait, [73] and selective pressure can be produced by any aspect of the environment, including sexual selection and competition with members of the same or other species.
Similar genotypic changes may result in similar phenotypic alterations, even across a wide range of species. [1] The genotype–phenotype distinction is drawn in genetics. The "genotype" is an organism's full hereditary information. The "phenotype" is an organism's actual observed properties, such as morphology, development, or behavior.
X-axis: phenotypic trait Y-axis: number of organisms Group A: original population Group B: after selection. Stabilizing selection (not to be confused with negative or purifying selection [1] [2]) is a type of natural selection in which the population mean stabilizes on a particular non-extreme trait value.
Human height is a continuous trait meaning that there is a wide range of heights. There are an estimated 50 genes that affect the height of a human. Environmental factors, like nutrition, also play a role in a human's height. Other examples of complex traits include: crop yield, plant color, and many diseases including diabetes and Parkinson's ...