What is heredity?

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Heredity pertains to the summation of all the characteristics an offspring gets from his or her parents.

Heredity discusses two observations about living things. First, is the steadiness of characteristics of the specie jumping from one generation to another. The second pertains to the variation of each living thing belonging to the same species.

Heredity is one subjects in the study of genetics since both the concepts on variation and steadiness of characteristics are explained using genes. Genes pertain to the units of materials that can be inherited and are found among all the living cells in the organisms.

Each species has sets of genes that are unique among that set of specie.

Heredity explained

Heredity can be explained using the concept of genotype. Genotype pertains to the combined genetic material of each organism that is inherited from the organism’s parents.

Genotype is often compared or discussed with the concept of phenotype. The outer appearance of an organism and the outcome of the combined genes is what accounts for the phenotype of a living creature.

Phenotype touches on the body structure of the living creature, its behaviors as well as the physiological processes. Phenotype blends the relationship of the organism’s environment and its genes.

There is a big difference between a genotype and a phenotype. A genotype is constant and never changes during the life of the organism. On the other hand, a phenotype may change given that the environment of the living creature may change over time.

It is for this reason that those who study genetics are careful to determine the attributes of an organism. And this includes how much of the attributes or traits are influenced by external factors and how much of the traits can be accounted for by the genes of the organism.

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