What is the phenotype of an organism?
Q: What is the phenotype of an organism?
A: The phenotype of an organism is the whole set of characters or traits that make up the organism. It includes both visible and non-visible traits, such as blood groups.
Q: How does phenotype differ from genotype?
A: Phenotype refers to the physical characteristics of an organism, while genotype refers to its genetic makeup. Genotype determines what a particular phenotype will be, but environmental factors can also influence it.
Q: Who proposed the distinction between germ plasm and somatic cells?
A: August Weismann proposed the distinction between germ plasm (gametes or their stem cells) and somatic cells (the body).
Q: Why is phenotype important in biology?
A: Phenotype is important because it is exposed to natural selection; it's what selection acts upon when determining which individuals survive and reproduce.
Q: How much do phenotypes depend on heredity vs environment?
A: Traits vary greatly in how much they owe to heredity (nature vs nurture). Heredity plays a major role in determining phenotypes, but environmental factors can also have an influence.
Q: What relationship has been used to describe the interaction between genotype and phenotype?
A: The relationship between genotype and phenotype has often been conceptualized by "nature vs nurture". This means that heredity plays a major role in determining phenotypes, but environmental factors can also have an influence.
Q: Who said that “it is the phenotype which is the part of the individual that is ‘visible’ to selection”?
A: Ernst Mayr said that “it is the phenotype which is the part of the individual that is ‘visible’ to selection”
