Question

What is the difference between pleiotropy and polygenic inheritance?

Answer 1

Pleiotropy:

It describes a phenomenon in which a single gene has many phenotypic consequences.

Polygenic inheritance:

Various plant and animal features and phenotypic characteristics, including height, skin pigmentation, hair, and eye color, and milk and egg production, are inherited through many alleles found in diverse loci. This is referred to as polygenic inheritance.

Difference between pleiotropy and polygenic inheritance:

Pleiotropy	Polygenic inheritance
1. Pleiotropy is defined as the regulation of numerous characteristics by a single gene.	1. The regulation of several characteristics by a single gene is referred to as phylogenetic inheritance.
2. Pleiotropy has three genotypic outcomes.	2. It has a wide range of genotypic results.
3. A single gene can have an effect on a certain characteristic.	3. A certain attribute influences several genes.
4. A single gene can influence all of its features.	4. The impact of a single gene on a trait is negligible.
5. It is based on Mendelian Inheritance.	5. It follows a pattern of non-Mendelian inheritance.
6. It is usually unaffected by environmental variables.	6. Environmental influences have a significant impact on traits.
7. Albinism, phenylketonuria, autism, sickle cell anemia, and Marfan syndrome are examples.	7. Controls the height, weight, shape of the body, eye color, and hair color of humans.