Concept
The maternal effect is a genetic phenomenon where the phenotype of an organism is determined not only by its own genotype but also by the genotype of its mother. This effect plays a crucial role in early development, as maternal gene products present in the egg can influence the offspring's traits before its own genes are expressed.
Relevant Fields:
Concept
Genetic inheritance is the process by which genetic information is passed from parents to offspring, governed by the principles of Mendelian genetics and involving the transmission of alleles through gametes. It underlies the continuity of traits across generations and is fundamental to understanding evolution, genetic disorders, and the diversity of life.
Concept
Phenotypic expression refers to the observable characteristics or traits of an organism, which result from the interaction of its genotype with the environment. It encompasses a wide range of features such as morphology, development, biochemical properties, and behavior, influenced by genetic and environmental factors.
Concept
Concept
Developmental biology is the study of the processes by which organisms grow and develop, encompassing the genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms that guide the formation of tissues, organs, and entire organisms. It integrates knowledge from genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology to understand how a single fertilized egg can give rise to the complex structures and functions of a mature organism.
Concept
Concept
Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence. These changes are influenced by various factors including environment, lifestyle, and disease, and can have significant implications for development, health, and evolution.
Your genotype is like a recipe book that tells your body how to grow and work, and your phenotype is how you actually look and act because of that recipe. Sometimes, even if two people have similar recipes, they might look or act a bit different because of things like the environment or other tiny changes in the recipe.
Concept
Non-Mendelian inheritance refers to patterns of genetic inheritance that do not follow Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment, encompassing phenomena such as incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, polygenic traits, and epigenetic modifications. These patterns are crucial for understanding the complexity of genetic expression and the diversity of phenotypes beyond simple dominant and recessive traits.
Concept
Maternal inheritance refers to the transmission of genetic material exclusively from the mother, primarily through mitochondria, which contain their own DNA separate from the nuclear DNA. This type of inheritance is crucial for understanding genetic diseases that are passed down maternally, as mutations in mitochondrial DNA can lead to a variety of disorders affecting energy production in cells.
Concept
Parent-of-origin effects refer to the phenomenon where the phenotype of an offspring is influenced by the specific parent from whom a particular allele is inherited. These effects are often observed in genomic imprinting, where certain genes are expressed in a parent-specific manner, impacting traits and disease susceptibilities.
3