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Of the human traits, which are likely to be under the control of a polygenic mode of inheritance?

User InitK
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Final answer:

Traits under the control of polygenic inheritance, like height, skin color, and weight, exhibit a wide range of phenotypes and involve more than one gene. Eye color, once thought to be determined by a single gene, is also polygenic. Albino individuals lack melanin, influencing their skin, hair, and eye color.

Step-by-step explanation:

Human traits that are likely to be under the control of a polygenic mode of inheritance are those that show a wide range of variation. This includes traits such as height, skin color, and weight. These traits are influenced by multiple genes, usually resulting in a continuous variation in phenotypes. Eyes color is an example of this, as it was once believed to be controlled by a single gene, but recent studies show that multiple genes are involved. Similarly, skin color is also polygenic due to the varying shades across different populations, influenced by several genes.

An albino is an individual with a genetic condition that results in little to no production of the pigment melanin, which affects their skin, hair, and eye color. They would definitely not have dark eyes because the melanin levels are too low to produce such color. People with blue eyes have low melanin levels in their eyes, which contributes to the blue color due to the way light is scattered in the iris. Some human characteristics violate Mendel's laws of inheritance because they are not controlled by a single gene with just two alleles. Polygenic traits like height and skin color are the result of the interaction of multiple genes, contrary to Mendel's prediction of traits being controlled by single genes. An example of polygenic inheritance is adult height, which is influenced by several contributing genes, each adding to the phenotype in varying degrees.

User Mikhail Olshanski
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