Talk:Phenotype

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Rated "top" as highschool/SAT biology content and for consistency with genotype. - tameeria 20:36, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

Can anyone explain how the epigenome affects the way the genotype translates to the phenotype?

Contents

[edit] Merge proposal

Please discuss merger at Talk:Trait#Merge proposal

[edit] Resolved Discussion: added to article

Phenotype can be easily summarised as

PHENOTYPE = GENOTYPE + ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

It would be misleading to say that the phenotype is coded solely by the genotype. The effect of environmental factors on the phenotype can be difficult to assess and can vary widely according to which phenotype you are examining but are still essential in determining every phenotype.

Without sufficient warmth, water or light, plants will fail to grow normally regardless of genotype. Thalidomide victims have a normal genotype, but because of an environmental factor (the presence of thalidomide) they have an unfortunate abnormal phenotype. In the case of some animals, sex determination relies upon environmental factors.

Kurzon (03 May 2005) - I don't quite like that equation, as it can be a bit misleading: one could mistakenly think that the phenotype is merely the genotype and environmental factors considered simultaneously, not their consequence for the organism. It's not a big issue - I think most readers will get it - but is there a better way of expressing this? Perhaps an arrow ( -> ) like in chemistry equations in place of the equals sign?

You could say instead that phenotype is a function of genotype and environmental factors. Also, the "nuanced" version including "random variation" might be misleading. Isn't such "random" variation due to environmental factors which are difficult to track? -- Alan McBeth 15:57, 21 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Total Lack of understanding

Can someone please give an example of phenotypes or a simpler explanation. Having read this articial a few times i still am very unclear what a phenotype is. Is it just random variation between features . dont all animials display this ? (Gnevin 21:44, 26 April 2006 (UTC))

The definition is blurred. A phenotype is not a trait: a phenotype manifests a set of traits. "The phenotype of an individual organism is either its total physical appearance and constitution or a specific manifestation of a trait, such as size, eye color..." Not exactly. Wouldn't the following be more correct?
"The phenotype of an individual organism is its total physical appearance and constitution; a specific manifestation of a trait, such as size, eye color... is phenotypical, that is typical of the individual."--Wetman 14:24, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV?

User 201.231.161.9 added the Neutrality Disputed flag but (as you can see) there's nothing here about the issue. Consider the dispute started I suppose! If I don't get some feedback I guess I'll delete the flag. I'm happy to leave it up if there is a dispute but it's a not really useful when there isn't. Shayno 16:48, 4 November 2006 (UTC) (Signed retrospectively!)

A familiar joke. With minimal effort they can make everyone scurry around. --Wetman 14:24, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Definition

We need a more rigorous definition with a citation - does phenotype include something like dying one's hair (physical appearance) or does the trait have to be caused by one's genes? Richard001 04:01, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

How do you like the first section now - I even added a reference. The definition of phenotype doesn't have to be as complex as most of this page makes it out to be. You'll notice that "eye color" is not an example of a phenotype in this definition but "blue eyes" is. Dr d12 15:52, 12 May 2007 (UTC)
dying one's hair a color should be considered a phenotype, absolutely. Consider if a bird used natural pigments to change its feather colors - biologists would eat this up as a "complex behavioral phenotype." Debivort 16:54, 12 May 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Phenotype is not a trait

This page is at present a mixture of accurate and inaccurate parts. Most seriously, the intro section is wrong in saying that traits like blue eyes are phenotypes. They are not: they are aspects or parts of the phenotype. Neither is it true to suggest that characters need to be measureable; they need to be distinguishable.

So I'm going to try to at least make the intro more accurate. Macdonald-ross 17:10, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Is the blood group really considered a phenotype? By the definition of this page it is very misleading - please change this example or augment the definitionLimaye (talk) 19:44, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Could you elaborate further? GlobeGores (talk page | user page) 15:59, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] genotype + environment → phenotype

genotype + environment → phenotype
 This formula can easily be understood as
genotype + environment = phenotype
by the general reader despite of the arrow. Therefore it is misleading, so it should not be placed at all. What does it contribute to the knowledge, except misunderstanding?--Wickey-nl (talk) 19:50, 1 May 2008 (UTC)