Question

true or false? Multifactorial inheritance can involve the interaction of a gene with other genes, with the environment or with chance events

Answer 1

Ans.

• When many factors (multifactorial) are responsible to cause a birth defect, that is known as multifctorial inheritance.
• It implies that the action of multiple genes which interact with each other and some environmental factors results in the development of a phenotype.
• The simple Mendelian pattern of transmission is not followed in the multifactorial inheritence.
• These traits occur because of the interaction of genes with one another, with environment or with chance events.
• In multifactorial traits, one gender may be affected more then the other.
• The threshold of expression is different for each gender i.e. a problem is more likely to express in one gender then other.
• Hip dysplasia, as an example, occurs more commonly in females then males.
• Since, genes are also responsible for occuring of these multifactorial traits, so these traits can recur in families.
• Examples of multifactorial inheritence are height, hip dysplasia and neural tube defects.