Genotype–phenotype distinction
distinction, fundamental in the study of inheritance of traits and their evolution
The genotype–phenotype distinction is drawn in genetics. The "genotype" is an organism's full hereditary information. The "phenotype" is an organism's actual observed properties, such as morphology, development, or behavior. This distinction is fundamental in the study of inheritance of traits and their evolution.
Overview
The terms "genotype" and "phenotype" were created by Wilhelm Johannsen in 1911, although the meaning of the terms and the significance of the distinction have evolved since they were introduced.
It is the organism's physical properties that directly determine its chances of survival and reproductive output, but the inheritance of physical properties is dependent on the inheritance of genes. Therefore, understanding the theory of evolution via natural selection requires understanding the genotype–phenotype distinction. The genes contribute to a trait, and the phenotype is the observable manifestation of the genes (and therefore the genotype that affects the trait). If a white mouse had recessive genes that caused the genes responsible for color to be inactive, its genotype would be responsible for its phenotype (the white color).
The mapping of a set of genotypes to a set of phenotypes is sometimes referred to as the genotype–phenotype map.
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This entry incorporates text from “Genotype–phenotype distinction” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.