Genetics

From ArticleWorld

Genetics is the science that studies genes, variation and heredity in organisms. Genetics has seen its beginnings with applied knowledge used in the breeding of plants and animals through history. Today, genetics is important for the analysis of gene function. The genetic information is carried in chromosomes and these contain genes which contain the information needed for protein synthesis. These also play a large role in the determination of the phenotype of organisms which are the physical characteristics as well as some of the behaviors of organisms.

History

Gregor Mendel when he published "Experiments in Plant Hybridization" introduced a method to trace the inheritance of patterns of some traits in pea plants. He illustrated a mathematical way of describing the inheritance of these traits. His method through not applicable to all patterns introduced a new concept of applying statistics to the study of variation and inheritance. Although this work was instrumental to genetics its value was not discovered until much later. Mendel also did not comprehend the nature of inheritance as we now know that some inherited information is carried by DNA and alterations in DNA can affect the features inherited by organisms.

Areas of genetics

There are many areas of genetics. Classical genetics deals with techniques in genetics developed before molecular biology. One of these concepts is the Mendelian pattern of inheritance which still remains a useful tool in studying genetic disease. Behavioral genetics is another area dealing with genetic variations as the reason for differences in animal behavior. It also deals with the effects of genetic disorders and their causes. Clinical genetics also deals with genetic disorders but focuses on its diagnosis, treatment and also counseling of individuals with the disorders.

Molecular genetics is a large area of genetics and build on classical genetics. This area focuses on the study of genes but at a molecular level. This field uses classical genetics as well as molecular biology concepts. It has applications in the determination of patterns of descent and classification of organisms. Other areas include population, quantitative and ecological genetics, genomics and other related fields such as biochemistry and genetic engineering.