What do genotypes do

However, the word genotype can also refer just to a particular gene or set of genes carried by an individual. For example, if you carry a mutation that is linked to diabetes, you may refer to your genotype just with respect to this mutation without consideration of all the other gene variants that your may carry. In contrast, your phenotype is a description of your actual physical characteristics. This includes straightforward visible characteristics like your height and eye color, but also your overall health, your disease history, and even your behavior and general disposition.

Do you gain weight easily? And so in that case, we talk about a genotype-phenotype correlation. Then what we're talking about is, well, here's a change in DNA sequence; why is it important? It's important because it leads to an observable change in a trait in a person. And that change in trait can be positive, it can be negative, or it could just be a difference.

Christopher P. Austin, M. In this example, the allele is either brown, or blue, with one inherited from the mother, and the other inherited from the father. The brown allele is dominant B , and the blue allele is recessive b.

If the child inherits two different alleles heterozygous then they will have brown eyes. For the child to have blue eyes, they must be homozygous for the blue eye allele. Figure 1: Inheritance chart detailing how an individual may inherit blue or brown eyes depending on the alleles carried by their parents, with the brown eye color allele being dominant and the blue eye color allele being recessive. Other examples of genotype include:.

What is the definition of a phenotype? Whilst a phenotype is influenced the genotype, genotype does not equal phenotype. The phenotype is influenced by the genotype and factors including:. Phenotype examples Environmental factors that may influence the phenotype include nutrition, temperature, humidity and stress.

Flamingos are a classic example of how the environment influences the phenotype. Whilst renowned for being vibrantly pink, their natural color is white — the pink color is caused by pigments in the organisms in their diet. A second example is an individual's skin color. Our genes control the amount and type of melanin that we produce, however, exposure to UV light in sunny climates causes the darkening of existing melanin and encourages increased melanogenesis and thus darker skin.

Observing the genotype, however, is a little more complex. Genotyping is the process by which differences in the genotype of an individual are analyzed using biological assays.