Genes and Heredity

Title: Genes and Heredity
Objectives:
Explicate what is Genes and Heredity

Understand and appreciate the essence of Respiratory System in our daily lives.
Concept Note:
A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are made up of DNA. Some genes act as
instructions to make molecules called proteins. However, many genes do not code for proteins. In humans,
genes vary in size from a few hundred DNA bases to more than 2 million bases. An international research
effort called the Human Genome Project, which worked to determine the sequence of the human genome and
identify the genes that it contains, estimated that humans have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes.
Every person has two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent. Most genes are the same in all
people, but a small number of genes (less than 1 percent of the total) are slightly different between people.
Alleles are forms of the same gene with small differences in their sequence of DNA bases. These small
differences contribute to each person’s unique physical features.
Heredity, the sum of all biological processes by which particular characteristics are transmitted from parents
to their offspring. The concept of heredity encompasses two seemingly paradoxical observations about
organisms: the constancy of a species from generation to generation and the variation among individuals
within a species. Constancy and variation are actually two sides of the same coin, as becomes clear in the
study of genetics. Both aspects of heredity can be explained by genes, the functional units of heritable
material that are found within all living cells. Every member of a species has a set of genes specific to that
species. It is this set of genes that provides the constancy of the species. Among individuals within a species,
however, variations can occur in the form each gene takes, providing the genetic basis for the fact that no two
individuals (except identical twins) have exactly the same traits.
The set of genes that an offspring inherits from both parents, a combination of the genetic material of each, is
called the organism’s genotype. The genotype is contrasted to the phenotype, which is the organism’s
outward appearance and the developmental outcome of its genes. The phenotype includes an organism’s
bodily structures, physiological processes, and behaviors. Although the genotype determines the broad limits
of the features an organism can develop, the features that actually develop, i.e., the phenotype, depend on
complex interactions between genes and their environment. The genotype remains constant throughout an
organism’s lifetime; however, because the organism’s internal and external environments change
continuously, so does its phenotype. In conducting genetic studies, it is crucial to discover the degree to which
the observable trait is attributable to the pattern of genes in the cells and to what extent it arises from
environmental influence.
Because genes are integral to the explanation of hereditary observations, genetics also can be defined as the
study of genes. Discoveries into the nature of genes have shown that genes are important determinants of all
aspects of an organism’s makeup. For this reason, most areas of biological research now have a genetic
component, and the study of genetics has a position of central importance in biology. Genetic research also
has demonstrated that virtually all organisms on this planet have similar genetic systems, with genes that are
built on the same chemical principle and that function according to similar mechanisms. Although species
differ in the sets of genes they contain, many similar genes are found across a wide range of species. For
example, a large proportion of genes in baker’s yeast are also present in humans. This similarity in genetic
makeup between organisms that have such disparate phenotypes can be explained by the evolutionary
relatedness of virtually all life-forms on Earth. This genetic unity has radically reshaped the understanding of
the relationship between humans and all other organisms. Genetics also has had a profound impact on human
affairs. Throughout history humans have created or improved many different medicines, foods, and textiles by
subjecting plants, animals, and microbes to the ancient techniques of selective breeding and to the modern
methods of recombinant DNA technology. In recent years medical researchers have begun to discover the role
that genes play in disease. The significance of genetics only promises to become greater as the structure and
function of more and more human genes are characterized.

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Title: Genes and Heredity

Explicate what is Genes and Heredity

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