Phenotypic trait

A phenotypic trait, simply trait, or character state 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.Lawrence, Eleanor (2005) ''Henderson's Dictionary of Biology''. Pearson, Prentice Hall. For example,

eye color

is a character of an organism, while blue, brown and hazel are ''traits''.

Definition

A phenotypic trait is an obvious, observable, and measurable trait; it is the expression of genes in an observable way. An example of a phenotypic trait is a specific hair color or eye colour. Underlying genes, which make up the genotype, determine the hair color, but the hair color observed is the phenotype. The phenotype is dependent on the genetic make-up of the organism, and also influenced by the environmental conditions to which the organism is subjected across its ontogenetic development, including various epigenetic processes. Regardless of the degree of influence of genotype versus environment, the phenotype encompasses all of the characteristics of an organism, including traits at multiple levels of biological organization, ranging from behavior and evolutionary history of life traits (e.g., litter size), through morphology (e.g., body height and composition), physiology (e.g., blood pressure), cellular characteristics (e.g., membrane lipid composition, mitochondrial densities), components of biochemical pathways, and even messenger RNA.

Genetic origin of traits in diploid organisms

The inheritable unit that may influence a trait is called a

gene

. A gene is a portion of a

chromosome

, which is a very long and compacted string of

DNA

and proteins. An important reference point along a chromosome is the centromere; the distance from a gene to the centromere is referred to as the gene's locus or map location.

The nucleus of a diploid cell contains two of each chromosome, with homologous (mostly identical) pairs of chromosomes having the same genes at the same loci.

Different phenotypic traits are caused by different forms of genes, or alleles, which arise by mutation in a single individual and are passed on to successive generations.

Mendelian expression of genes in diploid organisms

A gene is only a

DNA code

sequence; the slightly different variations of that sequence are called alleles. Alleles can be significantly different and produce different product

RNA

s.

Combinations of different

alleles

thus go on to generate different traits through the information flow charted above. For example, if the alleles on homologous

chromosome

s exhibit a "simple dominance" relationship, the trait of the "dominant" allele shows in the phenotype.

Gregor Mendel

pioneered modern genetics. His most famous analyses were based on clear-cut traits with simple dominance. He determined that the

heritable

units, what we now call

gene

s, occurred in pairs. His tool was

statistics

.

Biochemistry of dominance and extensions to expression of traits

The

biochemistry

of the intermediate

proteins

determines how they interact in the cell. Therefore, biochemistry predicts how different combinations of alleles will produce varying traits.

Extended expression patterns seen in diploid organisms include facets of

incomplete dominance

, codominance, and multiple alleles. Incomplete dominance is the condition in which neither allele dominates the other in one heterozygote. Instead the phenotype is intermediate in heterozygotes. Thus you can tell that each allele is present in the heterozygote. Codominance refers to the allelic relationship that occurs when two alleles are both expressed in the heterozygote, and both phenotypes are seen simultaneously. Multiple alleles refers to the situation when there are more than 2 common alleles of a particular gene. Blood groups in humans is a classic example. The ABO blood group proteins are important in
determining blood type in humans, and this is determined by different alleles of the one locus.

Schizotypy

Schizotypy is an example of a psychological phenotypic trait found in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Studies have shown that gender and age influences the expression of schizotypal traits. For instance, certain schizotypal traits may develop further during adolescence, whereas others stay the same during this period.

See also

*Allometric engineering of traits
*Character displacement
* Phene
*Race (biology)
*Skill
*

Eye color

Citations

References

*Lawrence, Eleanor (2005) ''Henderson's Dictionary of Biology''. Pearson, Prentice Hall.
*

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Classical genetics