Term | Definition |
Heredity | The passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another. |
Genetics | The genetic properties or features of an organism |
Dominant trait | A trait that will appear in the offspring if one of the parents contributes it |
Recessive trait | A trait that must be contributed by both parents in order to appear in the offspring |
Gene | A unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring |
Allele | One of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome. |
Phenotype | The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment |
Homozygous | A pair of matching alleles |
Heterozygous | A pair of genes where one is dominant and one is recessive |
Punnet square | A diagram that is used to predict an outcome of a particular cross or breeding experiment |
Incomplete dominance | A genetic situation in which one allele does not completely dominate another allele |
Codominance | A relationship between two versions of a gene |
Polygenic inheritance | Multiple variations of a gene |
DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes |
Nucleotide | A compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA |
Replication | The action of copying or reproducing something |
RNA | Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins, although in some viruses RNA rather than DNA |
Transcription | The action or process of transcribing something |
Translation | The process of moving something from one place to another |
Mutation | The changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA |