Genetics is the study of genes, genetic

temperate climate and one in an arid climate.

variation, and heredity in living organisms.[1][2] It

While the average height of the two corn stalks

is generally considered a field of biology, but it

may be genetically determined to be equal, the

intersects frequently with many of the life

one in the arid climateonly grows to half the

sciences and is strongly linked with the study

height of the one in the temperate climate due

of information systems.

to lack of water and nutrients in its

environment.

The father of genetics is Gregor Mendel, a late

19th-century scientist and Augustinian friar.
Mendel studied 'trait inheritance', patterns in
the way traits were 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

Heredity

is the genetic
information passing for traits from parents to
their offspring, either through asexual
reproduction or sexual reproduction. This is the
process by which an
offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes
predisposed to the characteristics of its parent
cell or organism. Through heredity, variations
exhibited by individuals can accumulate and
cause some species to evolvethrough
the natural selection of specific phenotype
traits. The study of heredity in biology is
called genetics, which includes the field
of epigenetics.

(e.g. dominance) and within the context of a

population. Genetics has given rise to a
number of sub-fields

Genetic variation is a fact that a

including epigenetics and population genetics.

biological system individual and population

Organisms studied within the broad field span

is different over space. It is the base of

the domain of life,

the Genetic variability of different biological

including bacteria, plants, animals,

systems in space.

and humans.
Genetic variation is based on the variation
Genetic processes work in combination with an

in alleles of genes in a gene pool. It occurs both

organism's environment and experiences to

within and among populations, supported by

influence development and behavior, often

individual carriers of the variant genes. Genetic

referred to as nature versus nurture. The intra-

variation is brought about by random mutation,

or extra-cellular environment of a cell or

which is a permanent change in the chemical

organism may switch gene transcription on or

structure of a gene.

off. A classic example is two seeds of

genetically identical corn, one placed in a

exist in alternative forms called alleles. One

allele for a trait is inherited from each parent.
Like traits originating from genes on autosomes
(non-sex chromosomes), sex-linked traits are
passed from parents to offspring
through sexual reproduction.

SELECTIVE BREEDING
the intentional mating of two animals in an atte
mpt to produce offspringwith desirable charact
eristics or for the elimination of a trait.

INBREEDING
the mating of closely related individuals, as cou
sins, sire-daughter,brother-sister, or selffertilized plants, which tends to increase thenu
mber of individuals that are homozygous for a t
rait and thereforeincreases the appearance of r
ecessive traits.

HYBRIDIZATION
the act of mixing different species or varieties
of animals orplants and thus to produce hybrid
s.

MULTIPLE ALLELES
any one of a series of three or more alterna
tive or allelic forms of agene, only two of w
hich can exist in
any normal, diploid individual.

SEX LINKED TRAITS

Sex-linked traits are genetic characteristics
determined by genes, which are located on sex
chromosomes. Genes are segments of DNA
found on chromosomes that carry information
for protein production and that are responsible
for the inheritance of specific traits. Genes