Environmental Genetics

Environmental Genetics is the study of how genes and the environment interact to influence an organism's traits.

Temperature, diet, and social interactions are all examples of environmental factors that can influence an organism's traits.

Phenotypic plasticity is the process by which an organism's traits are influenced by its environment.

A plant growing taller in response to more sunlight, a bird changing its diet in response to a change in food availability, and a lizard changing its color in response to its surroundings are all examples of phenotypic plasticity.

Epigenetics is the process by which environmental factors can cause changes in gene expression without changing the DNA sequence.

DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA expression are all examples of epigenetic changes.

Natural selection is the process by which a population of organisms evolves to become better adapted to their environment.

Peppered moths evolving to become darker in response to industrial pollution, bacteria evolving to become resistant to antibiotics, and plants evolving to produce more flowers in response to increased sunlight are all examples of natural selection.

Genetic assimilation is the process by which a population of organisms evolves to become more similar to each other in terms of their traits.

A population of plants evolving to become more resistant to a herbicide, a population of animals evolving to become more aggressive, and a population of bacteria evolving to become more resistant to antibiotics are all examples of genetic assimilation.

Gene-environment interaction is the study of how genetic variation affects an organism's response to its environment.

A person with a genetic predisposition to alcoholism is more likely to develop the disorder if they drink alcohol, a person with a genetic predisposition to obesity is more likely to become obese if they eat a high-fat diet, and a person with a genetic predisposition to cancer is more likely to develop the disease if they are exposed to carcinogens are all examples of gene-environment interactions.

Behavioral Genetics is the study of how genes and the environment interact to influence an organism's behavior.

A study of how genetic variation affects a person's risk of developing schizophrenia, a study of how genetic variation affects a person's intelligence, and a study of how genetic variation affects a person's personality are all examples of behavioral genetic studies.

Population Genetics is the study of how genetic variation affects an organism's population.

A study of how genetic variation affects a population's risk of developing a disease, a study of how genetic variation affects a population's adaptation to a changing environment, and a study of how genetic variation affects a population's size are all examples of population genetic studies.