one-half from my father.
DNA is what allows for the Almost all the structural, regulatory and controlling
DNA: DISCOVERING MY OWN TRAIT
Each of us has characteristics passed onto us by our
parents and they are called traits. Any trait that is
expressed by your DNA is heritable- blue eyes,
intelligence, height, predisposition towards certain
cancers, etc.
THAT BROWN EYES!
The physical trait I have chosen to describe is the
appearance of my eyes. I have brown-colored eyes
which I got from both of my parents. All of my
siblings actually also have the same color of my
eyes.
DNA’s role:
DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid is the body’s
instruction manual for making who you are. It is
present in any living being. It carries all of the
instructions for making all of the structures and
materials the body needs to function. All of the
cells of an individual contain the same DNA,
essentially creating a specific identity for that
individual.
But how did I inherit my brown eyes from my
parents?
DNA is established at conception, and does not
change throughout our life. Most probably, I
received one-half of my DNA from my mom and
transmission of genetic material from one
generation to the next. When my father’s sperm
and my mother’s egg cells combine at fertilization,
they created my genetic sequence in 23 pairs of
chromosomes (46 total). Since both of them have
brown eyes, there is very great possibility that I will
inherit brown eyes, and yeah I did!
In order to maintain the same chromosome
number from generation to generation, an
organism produces gametes which are sex cells
that have half the number of chromosomes. Both
of my parents’ gametes (23 each) combined with
one another through fertilization.
Normal division of cells to produce a new copy of
the original occurs through a process called mitosis.
A slightly different division, meiosis, generates a
new gamete. Both processes involve the copying of
DNA from the nucleus of the parent cell and its
transfer into the new one, but meiosis involves a
special combination of DNA from both of the
parents' original gametes. This recombination of
hereditary information allows for diversity of
inherited traits in the newly produced gamete; it is
the reason why all cells in our body do not exhibit
all of the traits, yet they all have the same DNA.
So, how does the DNA cause the trait?
DNA is the store of our genetic information and it
gives information to the cell for its function via the
process of TRANSCRIPTION, by which it
synthesizes mRNA.
functions of a cell is carried out by PROTEIN
molecules so, the instructions for the appropriate
protein synthesis is stored in DNA which becomes
our GENE and it is transcript into mRNA and
translated in to protein.
The traits of a living thing depend on the complex
mixture of interacting components inside it.
Proteins do much of the chemical work inside cells,
so they largely determine what those traits are. But
those proteins owe their existence to the DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid),
For every trait we
have--eye color, skin
color and so on--
there is a gene or
group of genes that
controls the trait by
producing first the
message and then
the protein. Sperm
cells and eggs cells
are specialized to carry DNA in such a way that, at
fertilization, a new individual with traits from both
its mother and father is created.
Will my children have this trait?
You pass on half of your genetic code to your chil-
dren. You have 2 alleles (units of inheritance) for
every gene you have. For a single gene, you inher-
ited 1 allele from your mother, and 1 allele from
your father. For each gene, you will pass on 1 allele
to your child (Your child's other allele will come
from his/her other parent).
As for passing on a trait you don't have, there is a
thing called dominance. To greatly simplify things,
let's use hair color. Let's say brown hair is dominant
to blonde hair (Note: This is NOT how hair color
works; it is in fact a spectrum involving multiple
genes, but we will simplify it for our purposes).
Someone with 2 brown hair alleles will have
brown hair (naturally). Same thing goes for
blonde hair alleles. But let's say someone has 1
brown hair allele and 1 blonde hair allele. The
brown hair allele is dominant over the blonde
hair allele, so you will have brown hair. Your
brown hair will be just as brown as the hair of
someone who had 2 brown-hair alleles. But you
still carry the blonde allele, so you can still pass it
on to your child. If the child also gets a blonde
allele from the other parent, that child will have
inherited blonde hair.
How could a change in DNA happen?
DNA copies itself
In order for our bodies to grow, cells must divide
and make new cells. Each time a cell makes new
cells, the DNA has to copy itself for the new cell.
This process is called “replication.”
DNA “typos” cause variation
Any time DNA is copied, a mistake or change can
occur in the letters of the DNA sequence, or gene.
These changes result in variations or differences
in DNA from person to person. Most often, this
change does not have an effect because it is like a
harmless typo—such as a word misspelled—that
is small enough that the sentence still makes
sense.
The effects of DNA variation
DNA: Discovering My Own Trait
Sometimes, though, this variation changes the
meaning of the DNA instructions and the result is
a protein may not be made right. This is like a typo Compiled by:
within a sentence that causes the sentence to not
make sense. Perhaps several words are missing or Abdulaziz Osama Al Tamimi
two sentences got mixed together. In this case, the
protein would not work properly.
Sources:
Web:
http://genetics.thetech.org/about-genetics
http://shenndesigns.weebly.com/index.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/
https://answers.yahoo.com/
https://www.my46.org/intro/how -does-dna-
change
Variation can be good, neutral, or bad
Book:
Changes in instructions (that is, DNA variation) are
responsible for many of the differences (such as Glencoe Biology, Student Edition
eye or hair color, height, etc.) we see between
individuals. Variations can be good and cause
better-than-normal eyesight, for example. Or they
can be harmful and cause birth defects or other
health problems.
Changing a DNA can effect you from a varying level.
It can go from turning your eyes to a different color
to having a sixth finger. DNA tells us who we are,
and our EVERY character traits. If one trait is
changed into a different one, it can be a simple,
harmless change or a chain reaction that can be
fatal.