Structural inheritance
Structural inheritance
Structural inheritance (pronunciation: struhk-cher-uhl in-her-i-tuhns) is a concept in genetics and developmental biology that refers to the inheritance of physical characteristics and traits through genetic material.
Etymology
The term "structural inheritance" is derived from the English words "structure" and "inheritance". "Structure" comes from the Latin word "structura" meaning "a fitting together, building". "Inheritance" comes from the Old French "enheriter" meaning "make heir, appoint as heir," and ultimately from the Latin "inheritare" which means "to appoint an heir".
Definition
Structural inheritance refers to the process by which physical traits and characteristics are passed down from parents to offspring through genes. These traits can include physical features such as eye color, hair color, and height, as well as more complex traits such as susceptibility to certain diseases.
Related Terms
- Genetic inheritance: This is the process by which genetic information is passed on from parent to offspring. It is a broader term that includes structural inheritance.
- Phenotype: This is the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
- Genotype: This is the genetic makeup of an individual organism. It directly influences the phenotype, which includes structural traits.
- Allele: This is a variant form of a given gene, meaning it is one of two or more versions of a particular gene that is located at a specific position on a specific chromosome.
- Dominant and recessive genes: These are terms used to describe the phenotypic effect of different versions of a gene. Dominant genes show their effect even if there is only one copy of that gene in the organism. Recessive genes only show their effect if two copies are present.
- Mendelian inheritance: This is a type of biological inheritance that follows the laws originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866 and re-discovered in 1900. These laws were initially controversial but are now widely accepted.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Structural inheritance
- Wikipedia's article - Structural inheritance
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski