Define and give examples of discontinuous and continuous phenotypic variation and explain how understanding of these two concepts resulted in important advances in human genetics
What will be an ideal response?
When a single gene pair controls a trait, such as the tall and short phenotypes in Mendel's pea plants, the resulting phenotypes will be either tall or short. These two phenotypes are examples of discontinuous phenotypic variation. In contrast, when several gene pairs and environmental interactions control a trait, such as the many phenotypes for human height, the resulting phenotypes will fall into a series of overlapping phenotypic classes. This pattern of phenotypes is an example of continuous phenotypic variation. Understanding the genetics underlying discontinuous and continuous traits was an important advance in human genetics and led to the realization that some traits are controlled by single genes (monogenic traits) identified by classic Mendelian patterns of inheritance, while others are complex traits controlled by multiple factors.
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surfaces.
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A.)sugar B.) nitrogen containing base C.) pentose D.) hydroxyl group E.) phosphate