BRAINCAKEGenetics and Inheritance
Genetics is the study of how characteristics are passed from parents to offspring. To describe inheritance you need a few key terms.
A gene is a sequence of DNA bases that codes for a polypeptide (or a functional RNA). Each gene is found at a fixed position on a particular chromosome, called its locus.
Diploid organisms have two copies of each chromosome, one inherited from each parent, so they have two copies of each gene. These copies may be the same version or different versions (different versions are called alleles, covered in the next lesson).
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More in Genetic Information
- Meiosis and Genetic Variation
- Mutation and Genetic Variation
- Different Types of Mutation
- Random Fertilisation
- Alleles
- Polygenic Traits
- Monohybrid Crosses
- Test Cross
All 30 lessons in Genetic Information · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics