What is a discrete phenotype?

Definitions. Discontinuous traits - traits with only a few possible phenotypes that fall into discrete classes; phenotype is controlled by one or only a few genes (ex.: tall or short pea plants; red, pink or white snapdragon flowers)

What is a discrete trait in biology?

Discrete, or discontinuous, traits are controlled by a small number of genes, often only one. These genes generally have two alleles. For instance, Mendel's pea seeds had two alleles for shape: smooth or wrinkled. An example of human alleles is seen with freckles; each person has a freckled or non-freckled allele.

What is the difference between continuous and discrete traits?

Continuous variation refers to the type of genetic variation, which shows an unbroken range of phenotypes of a particular character in the population while discontinuous variation refers to the type of genetic variation, which shows to or more separate forms of a character in the population.

What is discrete variation in genetics?

Variation between individuals of a species can be grouped into two large categories: discrete and continuous. Discrete variation is either/or and is often caused by the presence or absence of a small number if genes. For example, our ability to "roll" our tongues is determined by just one gene.

What are the three types of phenotype?

Polygenic inheritance can be explained by additive effects of many loci: if each "capital" allele contributes one increment to the phenotype. With one locus and additive effects we have three phenotypic classes: AA, Aa and aa.

Genotype vs Phenotype

What are some examples of phenotypes?

Examples of phenotypes include height, wing length, and hair color. Phenotypes also include observable characteristics that can be measured in the laboratory, such as levels of hormones or blood cells.

How many phenotypes are there?

The genetic locus, ABO locus encodes for the ABO blood group antigens. It has 3 allelic forms – A form, B form and O form. A fetus receives one of these three alleles from each of its parents. This produces four possible phenotypes (blood types) and six possible genotypes.

Is skin colour discrete or continuous?

Continuous variations are differences in characteristics that have a range of possible variations, such as height, shoe size, hand span, skin color, hair color, etc. Discrete variations are differences in characteristics that have a definite form, with a limited number of possibilities.

Is height a discrete variation?

Height ranges from that of the shortest person in the world to that of the tallest person. Any height is possible between these two extremes. So it is continuous variation.

Is blood type A discrete variation?

Human blood groups are another great example of discontinuous (discrete) variation. There are only four possible distinct blood groups. They are A, B, AB, or O. In other words, all people fall into one of these categories.

What are discrete characters?

Discrete character –> denumerable character. classifiable character that is also countable (e.g., number of progeny, number of teeth).

Is eye color a discrete trait?

Examples of types of discrete data include: eye colour, hair colour, number of people in a shop, favourite chocolate bar. These values are distinct.

What are discrete features?

Discrete features are discontinuous and have definite feature boundaries. For example, a road has a width and length and is represented on a map as a line. A landownership map shows the boundaries between various parcels.

What is the difference between continuous and discrete variations?

Continuous vs Discontinuous Variation

Continuous variation is a variation that has no limit on the value that can occur within a population. Discontinuous variation is a variation that has distinct groups for organisms to belong to.

Is albinism discrete or continuous?

In discontinuous variation, a character is found in a population in two or more distinct and separate forms called phenotypes. Such alternative phenotypes are often found to be encoded by the alleles of one gene. A good example is albinism in humans, which concerns phenotypes of the character of skin pigmentation.

Is albinism a discrete or continuous trait?

A discrete trait is a phenotype that manifests as clear and separable differences in a population, while a continuous trait is a phenotype that manifests as a continuum along a spectrum. Examples of discrete traits are dimples and albinism. Examples of continuous traits are height and eye color.

Is hair colour discrete or continuous?

Hair colour is a type of discrete data because the values are distinct. You either have one hair colour or another! Continuous data covers a range, so each category is not separate but runs into the next.

Is eye colour discrete variation?

Discontinuous variation refers to things like eye colour or blood group, which have a limited number of possible values.

Is weight discrete or continuous?

Continuous data is data that can take any value. Height, weight, temperature and length are all examples of continuous data.

Is blood type A discrete trait?

A character controlled by only a few genes is known as an oligogenic, or qualitative, character; oligogenic characters demonstrate discontinuous variation (in which traits are discrete; e.g., blood type is either AB, A, B, or O).

Is skin colour a discrete or polygenic trait?

Like eye color, skin color is an example of polygenic inheritance. This trait is determined by at least three genes and other genes are also thought to influence skin color.

What is my phenotype?

Phenotype refers to an individual's observable traits, such as height, eye color and blood type. A person's phenotype is determined by both their genomic makeup (genotype) and environmental factors.

Is blue eyes a genotype or phenotype?

The physical appearance of the genotype is called the phenotype. For example, children with the genotypes 'BB' and 'Bb' have brown-eye phenotypes, whereas a child with two blue-eye alleles and the genotype 'bb' has blue eyes and a blue-eye phenotype.

Can a person change their phenotype?

So in other words, no, your phenotype is set by your genes and your genes don't change.