Genes (climate change)

Genes

Published:

Updated: Jan 18, 2018

Author: Christopher Fox-Strauss

Topic Editor: Arnold J. Bloom

Topics:

Biology

A gene is a sequence of DNA or RNA which codes for a molecule that has a function. The DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA or RNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gene–environment interactions. Some genetic traits are instantly visible, such as eye color or number of limbs, and some are not, such as blood type, risk for specific diseases, or the thousands of basic biochemical processes that comprise life.

Genes can acquire mutations in their sequence, leading to different variants, known as alleles, in the population. These alleles encode slightly different versions of RNA or a protein, which cause different phenotypical traits. Usage of the term "having a gene" (e.g., "good genes," "hair color gene") typically refers to containing a different allele of the same, shared gene. Genes evolve due to natural selection or survival of the fittest of the alleles.

The concept of a gene continues to be refined as new phenomena are discovered. For example, regulatory regions of a gene can be far removed from its coding regions, and coding regions can be split into several exons. Some viruses store their genome in RNA instead of DNA and some gene products are functional non-coding RNAs. Therefore, a broad, modern working definition of a gene is any discrete locus of heritable, genomic sequence which affect an organism's traits by being expressed as a functional product or by regulation of gene expression.

The term gene was introduced by Danish botanist, plant physiologist and geneticist Wilhelm Johannsen in 1905. It is inspired by the ancient Greek: γόνος, gonos, that means offspring and procreation.

References

Gericke, Niklas Markus; Hagberg, Mariana (5 December 2006). "Definition of historical models of gene function and their relation to students' understanding of genetics". Science & Education. 16 (7–8): 849–881

Pearson H (May 2006). "Genetics: what is a gene?". Nature. 441 (7092): 398–401.

Pennisi E (June 2007). "Genomics. DNA study forces rethink of what it means to be a gene". Science. 316 (5831): 1556–1557.

Johannsen, W. (1905). Arvelighedslærens elementer ("The Elements of Heredity". Copenhagen). Rewritten, enlarged and translated into German as Elemente der exakten Erblichkeitslehre (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1905;

Further Reading

• “All About The Human Genome Project (HGP).” National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, 1 Oct. 2015, www.genome.gov/10001772/all-about-the--human-genome-project-hgp/

• "Gregor Mendel and the Principles of Inheritance." Scitable, 2008, [1]

Author's Note

This article used some material from the Wikipedia article that was accessed on November 6, 2018. The Author(s) and Topic Editor(s) associated with this article have modified the content derived from Wikipedia with original content or with content drawn from other sources. All content from Wikipedia has been reviewed and approved by those Author(s) and Topic Editor(s), and is subject to the same peer review process as other content in the EoE. The current version of the Wikipedia article differs from the version that existed on the date of access. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2. See the EoE’s Policy on the Use of Content from Wikipedia for more information.

Citation

Fox-Strauss, C. (2017, Nov 6). Genes. Retrieved from