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Genetic Variation in Organisms

Genetics is the branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, heredity, and genetic variation in organisms. While heredity was observed for millennia, Gregor Mendel was the first to scientifically study patterns of trait inheritance in pea plants in the 19th century. He observed that traits are passed from parents to offspring via discrete "units of inheritance" known today as genes. Modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to include the function and behavior of genes, as well as their structure, variation, and distribution within cells, organisms, and populations. Genetic processes interact with environmental factors to influence development and behavior.

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33 views4 pages

Genetic Variation in Organisms

Genetics is the branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, heredity, and genetic variation in organisms. While heredity was observed for millennia, Gregor Mendel was the first to scientifically study patterns of trait inheritance in pea plants in the 19th century. He observed that traits are passed from parents to offspring via discrete "units of inheritance" known today as genes. Modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to include the function and behavior of genes, as well as their structure, variation, and distribution within cells, organisms, and populations. Genetic processes interact with environmental factors to influence development and behavior.

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Lali Hajzeri
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© All Rights Reserved
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Genetics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the general scientific term. For the scientific journal, see Genetics (journal).

For a more accessible and less technical introduction to this topic, see Introduction to genetics.

Part of a series on

Genetics

Key components

 Chromosome
 DNA
 RNA

 Genome
 Heredity
 Mutation

 Nucleotide
 Variation

 Outline
 Index

History and topics

 Introduction
 History

 Evolution (molecular)
 Population genetics
 Mendelian inheritance
 Quantitative genetics
 Molecular genetics

Research

 DNA sequencing
 Genetic engineering
 Genomics ( template)
 Medical genetics

 Branches of genetics

Personalized medicine

Personalized medicine

 v
 t
 e

Part of a series on

Biochemistry
Key components

 Biomolecules
 Metabolism

 Index
 Outline

History of Biochemistry

 History

 Biochemistry
 Cell biology
 Bioinformatics
 Enzymology
 Genetics
 Immunology
 Molecular biology
 Plant biochemistry
 Structural biology

 Branches of biochemistry

 List of biochemists
Glossaries

 Glossary of biology
 Glossary of chemistry

Portals: Biochemistry

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Genetics is a branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, genetic variation, and
heredity in organisms.[1][2][3]

Though heredity had been observed for millennia, Gregor Mendel, a scientist and Augustinian
friar working in the 19th century, was the first to study genetics scientifically. Mendel studied
"trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring. He
observed that organisms (pea plants) inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This
term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene.

Trait inheritance and molecular inheritance mechanisms of genes are still primary principles of
genetics in the 21st century, but modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to studying
the function and behavior of genes. Gene structure and function, variation, and distribution are
studied within the context of the cell, the organism (e.g. dominance), and within the context of a
population. Genetics has given rise to a number of subfields, including molecular genetics,
epigenetics and population genetics. Organisms studied within the broad field span the domains
of life (archaea, bacteria, and eukarya).

Genetic processes work in combination with an organism's environment and experiences to


influence development and behavior, often referred to as nature versus nurture. The intracellular
or extracellular environment of a living cell or organism may switch gene transcription on or off.
A classic example is two seeds of genetically identical corn, one placed in a temperate climate
and one in an arid climate (lacking sufficient waterfall or rain). While the average height of the
two corn stalks may be genetically determined to be equal, the one in the arid climate only grows
to half the height of the one in the temperate climate due to lack of water and nutrients in its
environment.

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