Final answer:
Curly hair is caused by the genetic information within DNA, which is transcribed into mRNA, then translated into proteins by ribosomes, resulting in the curly hair phenotype.
Step-by-step explanation:
What Causes Curly Hair?
The trait of curly hair is caused by genetic information encoded within a person's DNA. This genetic information is contained in the sequence of nucleotide base pairs which form genes. These genes are then transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA) within the nucleus of a cell. The mRNA travels to the ribosomes, where it is translated into a specific sequence of amino acids that fold into proteins. The structure and function of these proteins ultimately lead to the observable characteristic, or phenotype, such as the curly texture of hair.
A person's genotype, which comprises all the genetic information including the various alleles inherited from their parents, is expressed as traits, influenced by both the genetic makeup and environmental factors. The DNA molecule, a double helix-shaped structure, contains the instructions for making proteins, which carry out nearly every function of the cell and are responsible for most traits in multicellular organisms. The proteins produced determine the structure and characteristic of the hair follicle, which in turn results in the curly hair phenotype.