Polygenic inheritance
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Polygenic inheritance (also called quantitative inheritance) refers to inheritance of a phenotypic characteristic that is attributable to two or more genes that have an additive effect. Unlike monogenic traits, polygenic traits do not follow patterns of Mendelian inheritance. Instead, their pheontypes typically vary along a continuous gradient depicted by a bell curve.[1]
An example of a polygenic trait is human skin color. Many genes factor into determining a person's natural skin color, so modifying only one of those genes changes the color only slightly. Many disorders with genetic components are polygenic, including autism, cancer, diabetes and numerous others. In fact, most phenotypic characteristics are the result of the interaction of multiple genes.
See Also
References
- ^ Ricki Lewis (2003), Multifactorial Traits, McGraw-Hill Higher Education
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