What is an example of a polygenic trait?

A polygenic trait is a characteristic, sometimes we call them phenotypes, that are affected by many, many different genes. A classic example of this would be height. Height in humans is very strongly genetically controlled, but there are many, many different genes that control height.

What characteristics are polygenic?

Polygenic traits have a bell-shaped distribution in a population with most individuals inheriting various combinations of alleles and falling within the middle range of the curve for a particular trait. Examples of polygenic traits include skin color, eye color, hair color, body shape, height, and weight.

What do you mean by polygenic inheritance?

Polygenic inheritance refers to the kind of inheritance in which the trait is produced from the cumulative effects of many genes in contrast to monogenic inheritance in which the trait results from the expression of one gene (or one gene pair).

What is the most common phenotype in a natural population?

The name given to most common phenotype in a natural population is wild type. Wild-type normally refers to the gene or trait which is normally found in populations that are in natural conditions.

What is another word for polygenic inheritance?

A polygene is a member of a group of non-epistatic genes that interact additively to influence a phenotypic trait, thus contributing to multiple-gene inheritance (polygenic inheritance, multigenic inheritance, quantitative inheritance), a type of non-Mendelian inheritance, as opposed to single-gene inheritance, which …

Are Freckles a polygenic trait?

Examples of polygenic traits include skin color, eye color, hair color, body shape, height, and weight. This trait is reportedly due to a single gene; the presence of freckles is dominant, the absence of freckles is recessive1.

Which is the best definition of a polygenic trait?

Polygenic Trait A polygenic trait is one whose phenotype is influenced by more than one gene. Traits that display a continuous distribution, such as height or skin color, are polygenic.

How are polygenic traits related to Mendelian inheritance?

Polygenic traits are complex and unable to be explained by simple Mendelian inheritance alone. Mendelian inheritance is involved when one particular gene controls for a trait, and the traits are discrete. It is named after Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk and botanist who studied pea plants in the 19th Century.

Why do polygenic traits have a bell curve?

These traits have what’s called continuous variation, showing a bell curve of values for the phenotype. This is because there are multiple genes that play a role in the phenotype, and each gene could have multiple alleles. This can give a range of possible phenotypes from all the variation that’s coming into play here.

What are some examples of polygenic inheritance in plants?

Polygenic Inheritance in Plants Polygenic inheritance in plants includes the colour and shape of the stem, pollen, flower, yield, oil content, size of a seed, time to mature or flower, etc. Brief description of some of the traits:

How many genes influence a polygenetic trait?

Polygenic traits are controlled by an unknown number of genes. The gene expression is influenced by a variety of factors including gender, nutrition, breed, rate of growth, and amount of exercise. These traits are quantitative traits – that is, there is a wide range within the population.

What determines a specific trait?

Traits are determined by an individual’s genotype, the summation of the genes in our DNA. A gene is a portion of a chromosome. A chromosome is composed of DNA and contains the genetic material for an organism. Humans have twenty-three pairs of chromosomes.

Is skin example of polygenetic trait in humans?

Polygenic traits have many possible phenotypes (physical characteristics) that are determined by interactions among several alleles. Examples of polygenic inheritance in humans include traits such as skin color, eye color, hair color, body shape, height, and weight .

What is an example of a single gene trait?

An example of a single-gene trait is the presence or absence of bands on a snail’s shell.