Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Principles of Inheritance and Variation

Genetics is a branch of biology that deals with the study of heredity and variations. It describes how characteristics and features pass on from the parents to their offsprings in each successive generation. The unit of heredity is known as the gene. Gene is the inherited factor that determines the biological character of an organism. A variation is the degree by which the progeny differs from their parents.

In this chapter, we are going to learn about multiple alleles with reference to the human blood groups, sex determination in man, insects and birds, sex linked inherited traits, genetic disorders and extra chromosomal inheritance. The betterment of human race can be achieved by methods like eugenics, euthenics and euphenics.