Genes:It is clear to see how genes contribute to inheritance because they are what you inherit.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA (duhhh), is hereditary material that you inherit from your parents. It defines people (as does Webster's dictionary) and is found in humans and almost all other organisms. In eukaryotic (having a nucleus) cells, or in your case euprobablydon'tkaryotic cells, most of the DNA is found in the nucleus, but some is found in the mitochondria.
Traits are pairs of genes that define what you look like, how you act and generally who you are as a human being. There are different types of traits.
Dominant Traits:To have a dominant trait, only one parent has to carry it down; you only have to have one for it to appear, unlike recessive traits where there must be two.
Co-dominant Traits:A co-dominant trait is defined by a set of genes where both genes are equally dominant, as opposed to one dominant and one recessive gene. If you have one of each co-dominant gene, you inherit a trait that is a mixture of the co-dominant traits.
Recessive Traits: A recessive trait is a trait that doesn't appear unless both genes in the gene pair are recessive. If one of the genes is dominant, the dominant trait will appear. Both genes have to be recessive. If you have one dominant and one recessive, the dominant trait will be the one you inherit. With one dominant and one recessive trait, you have the ability to carry down the recessive trait but it won’t appear.
When you combine two traits, a gene pair is created. There are different types of gene pairs.
Heterozygous: Heterozygous genes are when you have one of each gene type (dominant and recessive or two different co-dominant traits). For example, if you have one dominant trait, brown eyes, and one recessive trait, blue eyes, the dominant trait will show and you will have brown eyes.
Homozygous: Homozygous genes are when you have two of the same gene type (dominant and dominant or recessive and recessive). For example, if you are given two recessive traits of blue eyes, you will have blue eyes.
Different traits are categorized into sections, based on how they appear. Phenotypes: Phenotypes are the whole observable functions, structures or behaviors of a living organism. They can be from your genotypes or from your environment. An example would be the appearance of someone’s brown hair. Genotypes: All of your traits, even the hidden ones, are a part of your genotype. For example, even if you have brown eyes, you could still have a hidden trait of blue eyes and both of those traits are part of your genotype.