Library · Genetics
Genetic inheritance
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Genetic inheritance is the way biological information passes from parents to children, and its unit is the gene. A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity, and it is made of DNA, the molecule that stores the body's instructions.
The detail that organizes almost everything else is that genes come in pairs. Typically a person has two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent. Everything said afterward about inheritance rests on that pair.
Some genetic conditions come from variants in a single gene, and those are usually passed down following one of several known patterns, depending on which gene is involved. A pattern is not an arbitrary label. It is the description of how the two copies of that particular gene travel from parents to child.
In brief
The unit of heredity is the gene: the basic physical and functional unit behind what gets passed down, and genes are made up of DNA.
Genes do not come singly but in pairs: typically a person has two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent.
Some genetic conditions are caused by variants in a single gene, and these are usually inherited in one of several patterns, depending on the gene involved.
Sources (2)
- MedlinePlus GeneticsWhat is a gene?
- MedlinePlus GeneticsWhat are the different ways a genetic condition can be inherited?
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated