Phenotype

F. John Meaney & Jennifer Andrews & Timothy Miller

The phenotype , a term used extensively in the field of genetics since its development in the early 1900s, comprises the characteristics, traits, values, or abnormalities that we observe, measure, test, or evaluate in an individual. As such, the phenotype may include behavioral, biochemical, clinical, molecular, morphological, physical, and physiological characteristics, as well as the presence or absence of disease. In genetics, we think of the phenotype as the outcomes and results that are determined by the interplay between the genotype and environmental factors. It is important to consider that the environment can also include the so-called genetic environment—that is, the genes at other genetic loci whose products might interact with a specified gene or its product during development or during processes later in life. With respect to genetic disease, the phenotype includes the clinical signs and symptoms of the disease, clinical features that are observed or measured on an ...

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