Jump to content

Heredity: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Excirial (talk | contribs)
211,201 edits
m Reverted edits by 50.201.40.66 (talk) to last revision by Against the current (HG)
No edit summary
Line 3: Line 3:
{{Genetics sidebar}}
{{Genetics sidebar}}


'''Heredity''' is the passing of [[Phenotypic trait|trait]]s to offspring (from its parent or ancestors). This is the process by which an offspring [[cell (biology)|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 [[evolution|evolve]]. The study of heredity in [[biology]] is called [[genetics]], which includes the field of [[epigenetics]].
'''Heredity''' is the passing of [[Phenotypic trait|trait]]s to offspring from its parents or ancestor. This is the process by which an offspring [[cell (biology)|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 [[evolution|evolve]]. The study of heredity in [[biology]] is called [[genetics]], which includes the field of [[epigenetics]].


==Overview==
==Overview==

Revision as of 02:52, 23 April 2013

"Bloodline" redirects here. For other uses, see Bloodline (disambiguation).
For the journal, see Heredity (journal).
Part of a series on
Genetics
Key components
History and topics
Research
Fields
Personalized medicine

Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring from its parents or ancestor. 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 evolve. The study of heredity in biology is called genetics, which includes the field of epigenetics.

Overview

DNA structure. Bases are in the centre, surrounded by phosphate–sugar chains in a double helix.

In humans, eye color is an example of an inherited characteristic: an individual might inherit the "brown-eye trait" from one of the parents.[1] Inherited traits are controlled by genes and the complete set of genes within an organism's genome is called its genotype.[2]

The complete set of observable traits of the structure and behavior of an organism is called its phenotype. These traits arise from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.[3] As a result, many aspects of an organism's phenotype are not inherited. For example, suntanned skin comes from the interaction between a person's genotype and sunlight;[4] thus, suntans are not passed on to people's children. However, some people tan more easily than others, due to differences in their genotype:[5] a striking example is people with the inherited trait of albinism, who do not tan at all and are very sensitive to sunburn.[6]

Heritable traits are known to be passed from one generation to the next via DNA, a molecule that encodes genetic information.[2] DNA is a long polymer which incorporates four types of bases which are interchangeable. The sequence of bases along a particular DNA molecule specifies the genetic information: this is comparable to a sequence of letters spelling out a passage of text.[7] Before a cell divides through Mitosis, the DNA is copied, so that each of the resulting two cells will inherit the DNA sequence. A portion of a DNA molecule that specifies a single functional unit is called a gene; different genes have different sequences of bases. Within cells, the long strands of DNA form condensed structures called chromosomes. The specific location of a DNA sequence within a chromosome is known as a locus. If the DNA sequence at a particular locus varies between individuals, the different forms of this sequence are called alleles. DNA sequences can change through mutations, producing new alleles. If a mutation occurs within a gene, the new allele may affect the trait that the gene controls, altering the phenotype of the organism.[8]

However, while this simple correspondence between an allele and a trait works in some cases, most traits are more complex and are controlled by multiple interacting genes within and among organisms.[9][10] Developmental biologists suggest that complex interactions in genetic networks and communication among cells can lead to heritable variations that may underlay some of the mechanics in developmental plasticity and canalization.[11]

Recent findings have confirmed important examples of heritable changes that cannot be explained by direct agency of the DNA molecule. These phenomena are classed as epigenetic inheritance systems that are causally or independently evolving over genes. Research into modes and mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance is still in its scientific infancy, however, this area of research has attracted much recent activity as it broadens the scope of heritability and evolutionary biology in general.[12] DNA methylation marking chromatin, self-sustaining metabolic loops, gene silencing by RNA interference, and the three dimensional conformation of proteins (such as prions) are areas where epigenetic inheritance systems have been discovered at the organismic level.[13][14] Heritability may also occur at even larger scales. For example, ecological inheritance through the process of niche construction is defined by the regular and repeated activities of organisms in their environment. This generates a legacy of effect that modifies and feeds back into the selection regime of subsequent generations. Descendants inherit genes plus environmental characteristics generated by the ecological actions of ancestors.[15] Other examples of heritability in evolution that are not under the direct control of genes include the inheritance of cultural traits, group heritability, and symbiogenesis.[16][17][18] These examples of heritability that operate above the gene are covered broadly under the title of multilevel or hierarchical selection, which has been a subject of intense debate in the history of evolutionary science.[17][19]

Relation to theory of evolution

Main article: Charles Darwin
See also: Evolution

When Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution in 1859, one of its major problems was the lack of an underlying mechanism for heredity.[20] Darwin believed in a mix of blending inheritance and the inheritance of acquired traits (pangenesis). Blending inheritance would lead to uniformity across populations in only a few generations and thus would remove variation from a population on which natural selection could act.[21] This led to Darwin adopting some Lamarckian ideas in later editions of On the Origin of Species and his later biological works.[22] Darwin's primary approach to heredity was to outline how it appeared to work (noticing that traits that were not expressed explicitly in the parent at the time of reproduction could be inherited, that certain traits could be sex-linked, etc.) rather than suggesting mechanisms.

Darwin's initial model of heredity was adopted by, and then heavily modified by, his cousin Francis Galton, who laid the framework for the biometric school of heredity.[23] Galton found no evidence to support the aspects of Darwin's pangenesis model, which relied on acquired traits.[24]

The inheritance of acquired traits was shown to have little basis in the 1880s when August Weismann cut the tails off many generations of mice and found that their offspring continued to develop tails.[25]

History

The ancients had a variety of ideas about heredity: Theophrastus proposed that male flowers caused female flowers to ripen;[26] Hippocrates speculated that "seeds" were produced by various body parts and transmitted to offspring at the time of conception;[27] and Aristotle thought that male and female semen mixed at conception.[28] Aeschylus, in 458 BC, proposed the male as the parent, with the female as a "nurse for the young life sown within her."[29]

Various hereditary mechanisms were envisaged without being properly tested or quantified. These included blending inheritance and the inheritance of acquired traits. Nevertheless, people were able to develop domestic breeds of animals as well as crops through artificial selection. The inheritance of acquired traits also formed a part of early Lamarckian ideas on evolution.

During the 18th century, Dutch microscopist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) discovered "animalcules" in the sperm of humans and other animals.[30] Some scientists speculated they saw a "little man" (homunculus) inside each sperm. These scientists formed a school of thought known as the "spermists." They contended the only contributions of the female to the next generation were the womb in which the homunculus grew, and prenatal influences of the womb.[31] An opposing school of thought, the ovists, believed that the future human was in the egg, and that sperm merely stimulated the growth of the egg. Ovists thought women carried eggs containing boy and girl children, and that the gender of the offspring was determined well before conception.[32]

Gregor Mendel: father of genetics

Table showing how the genes exchange according to segregation or independent assortment during meiosis and how this translates into Mendel's laws
Main article: Gregor Mendel
See also: Modern evolutionary synthesis

The idea of particulate inheritance of genes can be attributed to the Moravian[33] monk Gregor Mendel who published his work on pea plants in 1865. However, his work was not widely known and was rediscovered in 1901. It was initially assumed the Mendelian inheritance only accounted for large (qualitative) differences, such as those seen by Mendel in his pea plants—and the idea of additive effect of (quantitative) genes was not realised until R.A. Fisher's (1918) paper, "The Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance" Mendel's overall contribution gave scientists a useful overview that traits were inheritable. As of today, his pea plant demonstration became the foundation of the study of Mendelian Traits. These traits can be traced on a single locus.[34]

Modern development of genetics and heredity

Main articles: History of genetics and Modern evolutionary synthesis

In the 1930s, work by Fisher and others resulted in a combination of Mendelian and biometric schools into the modern evolutionary synthesis. The modern synthesis bridged the gap between experimental geneticists and naturalists; and between both and palaeontologists, stating that:[35][36]

  1. All evolutionary phenomena can be explained in a way consistent with known genetic mechanisms and the observational evidence of naturalists.
  2. Evolution is gradual: small genetic changes, recombination ordered by natural selection. Discontinuities amongst species (or other taxa) are explained as originating gradually through geographical separation and extinction (not saltation).
  3. Selection is overwhelmingly the main mechanism of change; even slight advantages are important when continued. The object of selection is the phenotype in its surrounding environment. The role of genetic drift is equivocal; though strongly supported initially by Dobzhansky, it was downgraded later as results from ecological genetics were obtained.
  4. The primacy of population thinking: the genetic diversity carried in natural populations is a key factor in evolution. The strength of natural selection in the wild was greater than expected; the effect of ecological factors such as niche occupation and the significance of barriers to gene flow are all important.
  5. In palaeontology, the ability to explain historical observations by extrapolation from micro to macro-evolution is proposed. Historical contingency means explanations at different levels may exist. Gradualism does not mean constant rate of change.

The idea that speciation occurs after populations are reproductively isolated has been much debated.[37] In plants, polyploidy must be included in any view of speciation. Formulations such as 'evolution consists primarily of changes in the frequencies of alleles between one generation and another' were proposed rather later. The traditional view is that developmental biology ('evo-devo') played little part in the synthesis, but an account of Gavin de Beer's work by Stephen Jay Gould suggests he may be an exception.[38]

Almost all aspects of the synthesis have been challenged at times, with varying degrees of success. There is no doubt, however, that the synthesis was a great landmark in evolutionary biology.[39] It cleared up many confusions, and was directly responsible for stimulating a great deal of research in the post-World War II era.

Trofim Lysenko however caused a backlash of what is now called Lysenkoism in the Soviet Union when he emphasised Lamarckian ideas on the inheritance of acquired traits. This movement affected agricultural research and led to food shortages in the 1960s and seriously affected the USSR.[citation needed]

Common genetic disorders

Types of heredity

An example pedigree chart of an autosomal dominant disorder.
An example pedigree chart of an autosomal recessive disorder.
An example pedigree chart of a sex-linked disorder (the gene is on the X chromosome)

Dominant and recessive alleles

An allele is said to be dominant if it is always expressed in the appearance of an organism (phenotype) provided that at least one copy of it is present. For example, in peas the allele for green pods, G, is dominant to that for yellow pods, g. Thus pea plants with the pair of alleles either GG (homozygote) or Gg (heterozygote) will have green pods. The allele for yellow pods is recessive. The effects of this allele are only seen when it is present in both chromosomes, gg (homozygote).

The description of a mode of biological inheritance consists of three main categories:

1. Number of involved loci
2. Involved chromosomes
3. Correlation genotype–phenotype

These three categories are part of every exact description of a mode of inheritance in the above order. In addition, more specifications may be added as follows:

4. Coincidental and environmental interactions
5. Sex-linked interactions
6. Locus–locus interactions

Determination and description of a mode of inheritance is achieved primarily through statistical analysis of pedigree data. In case the involved loci are known, methods of molecular genetics can also be employed.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Sturm RA, Frudakis TN (2004). "Eye colour: portals into pigmentation genes and ancestry". Trends Genet. 20 (8): 327–32. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2004.06.010. PMID 15262401. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  2. ^ a b Pearson H (2006). "Genetics: what is a gene?". Nature. 441 (7092): 398–401. Bibcode:2006Natur.441..398P. doi:10.1038/441398a. PMID 16724031. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  3. ^ Visscher PM, Hill WG, Wray NR (2008). "Heritability in the genomics era—concepts and misconceptions". Nat. Rev. Genet. 9 (4): 255–66. doi:10.1038/nrg2322. PMID 18319743. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Shoag J; et al. (2013). "PGC-1 coactivators regulate MITF and the tanning response". Mol Cell. 49 (1): 145–57. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2012.10.027. PMID 23201126. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Pho LN, Leachman SA. (2010). "Genetics of pigmentation and melanoma predisposition". G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 145 (1): 37–45. PMID 20197744. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Oetting WS, Brilliant MH, King RA (1996). "The clinical spectrum of albinism in humans". Molecular medicine today. 2 (8): 330–5. doi:10.1016/1357-4310(96)81798-9. PMID 8796918. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Griffiths, Anthony J.F. (2012). Introduction to Genetic Analysis (10 ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4292-2943-8. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help); More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Futuyma, Douglas J. (2005 hi). Evolution. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc. ISBN 0-87893-187-2. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  9. ^ Phillips PC (2008). "Epistasis—the essential role of gene interactions in the structure and evolution of genetic systems". Nat. Rev. Genet. 9 (11): 855–67. doi:10.1038/nrg2452. PMC 2689140. PMID 18852697. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  10. ^ Wu R, Lin M (2006). "Functional mapping – how to map and study the genetic architecture of dynamic complex traits". Nat. Rev. Genet. 7 (3): 229–37. doi:10.1038/nrg1804. PMID 16485021. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  11. ^ Jablonka, E.; Lamb, M. J. (2002). "The changing concept of epigenetics" (PDF). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 981 (1): 82–96. Bibcode:2002NYASA.981...82J. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2002.tb04913.x. PMID 12547675.
  12. ^ Jablonka, E.; Raz, G. (2009). "Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance: Prevalence, mechanisms, and implications for the study of heredity and evolution" (PDF). The Quarterly Review of Biology. 84 (2): 131–176. doi:10.1086/598822. PMID 19606595.
  13. ^ Bossdorf, O.; Arcuri, D.; Richards, C. L.; Pigliucci, M. (2010). "Experimental alteration of DNA methylation affects the phenotypic plasticity of ecologically relevant traits in Arabidopsis thaliana". Evolutionary Ecology. 24 (3): 541–553. doi:10.1007/s10682-010-9372-7.
  14. ^ Jablonka, E.; Lamb, M. (2005). Evolution in four dimensions: Genetic, epigenetic, behavioural, and symbolic. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-10107-6.
  15. ^ Laland, K. N.; Sterelny, K. (2006). "Perspective: Seven reasons (not) to neglect niche construction" (PDF). Evolution. 60 (8): 1751–1762. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2006.tb00520.x.
  16. ^ Chapman, M. J.; Margulis, L. (1998). "Morphogenesis by symbiogenesis" (PDF). International Microbiology. 1 (4): 319–326. PMID 10943381.
  17. ^ a b Wilson, D. S.; Wilson, E. O. (2007). "Rethinking the theoretical foundation of sociobiology" (PDF). The Quarterly Review of Biology. 82 (4).
  18. ^ Bijma, P.; Wade, M. J. (2008). "The joint effects of kin, multilevel selection and indirect genetic effects on response to genetic selection". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 21 (5): 1175–1188. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01550.x. PMID 18547354.
  19. ^ Vrba, E. S.; Gould, S. J. (1986). "The hierarchical expansion of sorting and selection: Sorting and selection cannot be equated" (PDF). Paleobiology. 12 (2): 217–228.
  20. ^ Griffiths, Anthony, J.F. (2012). Introduction to Genetic Analysis (10 ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-4292-2943-8. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help); More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Charlesworth, Brian and Charlesworth, Deborah (2009). "Darwin and Genetics". Genetics November 2009 vol. 183 no. 3 757-766. 183 (3): 757–766. doi:10.1534/genetics.109.109991. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Bard, Jonathan BL (2011). "The next evolutionary synthesis: from Lamarck and Darwin to genomic variation and systems biology". Cell Communication and Signaling. 9 (30). doi:10.1186/1478-811X-9-30.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  23. ^ "Francis Galton (1822-1911)". Science Museum. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  24. ^ Liu Y. (2008). "A new perspective on Darwin's Pangenesis". Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 83 (2): 141–9. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2008.00036.x.. PMID 18429766. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  25. ^ Lipton, Bruce H. (2008). The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles. Hay House, Inc. p. 12. ISBN 9781401923440.
  26. ^ Negbi, Moshe (1995). "Male and female in Theophrastus's botanical works". Journal of the History of Biology. 28 (2): 317–332. doi:10.1007/BF01059192. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  27. ^ Hipócrates (1981). Hippocratic Treatises: On Generation - Nature of the Child - Diseases Ic. Walter de Gruyter. p. 6. ISBN 9783110079036.
  28. ^ "Aristotle's Biology - 5.2. From Inquiry to Understanding; from hoti to dioti". Stanford University. Feb 15, 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  29. ^ Eumenides 658-661
  30. ^ Snow, Kurt. "Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's Amazing Little "Animalcules"". Leben. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  31. ^ Lawrence, Cera R. (2008). Hartsoeker’s Homunculus Sketch from Essai de Dioptrique. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. ISSN 1940-5030. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  32. ^ Gottlieb, Gilbert (2001). Individual Development and Evolution: The Genesis of Novel Behavior. Psychology Press. p. 4. ISBN 9781410604422.
  33. ^ Henig, Robin Marantz (2001). The Monk in the Garden : The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-97765-7. The article, written by an obscure Moravian monk named Gregor Mendel
  34. ^ a b Carlson, Neil and et al. "Psychology the Science of Bahaviour", p. 206. Pearson Canada, United States of America. ISBN 978-0-205-64524-4.
  35. ^ Mayr & Provine 1998
  36. ^ Mayr E. 1982. The growth of biological thought: diversity, evolution & inheritance. Harvard, Cambs. p567 et seq.
  37. ^ Palumbi, Stephen R. (1994). "Genetic Divergence, Reproductive Isolation, and Marine Speciation". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 25: 547–572. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.25.110194.002555.
  38. ^ Gould S.J. Ontogeny and phylogeny. Harvard 1977. p221-2
  39. ^ Handschuh, Stephan; Mitteroecker, Philipp (2012). "Evolution -­‐‑ The Extended Synthesis. A research proposal persuasive enough for the majority of evolutionary biologists?". The International Society for Human Ethology. 27 (1–2): 18–21. ISSN 2224-4476. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); soft hyphen character in |title= at position 12 (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Look up heredity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heredity&oldid=551735059"