What is a continuous trait?
A continuous trait displays a range of expression (such as weight, height, etc.) rather than an all-or-none appearance (such as white or red). Continuous traits are usually under polygenic control and subject to substantial environmental influence in expression.
What is an example of a continuous trait?
Continuous traits are common in humans, who show a wide range of possibilities in characteristics such as height, skin color, learning ability and blood pressure. These traits are frequently seen in agriculture, as well.
What is continuous and discontinuous trait?
The main difference between continuous and discontinuous variation is that continuous variation shows an unbroken range of phenotypes of a particular character in the population whereas discontinuous variation shows two or more separate forms of a character in the population.
What causes a continuous trait?
The continuous variation for complex traits is due to genetic complexity and environmental sensitivity. Genetic complexity arises from segregating alleles at multiple loci. The effect of each of these alleles on the trait phenotype is often relatively small, and their expression is sensitive to the environment.
Which is an example of a continuous trait?
Examples of continuous variation include things like a person’s height and weight. Is blood type A continuous trait? Continuous traits are additive, meaning an allele only affects the trait partly.
What’s the difference between continuous and discontinuous genetic variation?
Continuous variation refers to the type of genetic variation, which shows an unbroken range of phenotypes of a particular character in the population while discontinuous variation refers to the type of genetic variation, which shows to or more separate forms of a character in the population.
Which is a feature of a continuous variation?
Moreover, the main feature of phenotype-wise continuous variation is the presence of intermediate phenotypes. Therefore, it gives a bell-shaped distribution curve of phenotypes.
How are multiple genes related to continuous traits?
Multiple genes and, therefore, multiple alleles, affect continuous, or quantitative, traits. Because they are caused by more than one gene, they are also referred to as polygenic traits. Gene expression is complex, and continuous traits can also be influenced by environmental factors.