Gene: a region of DNA that instructs the cell on how to build protein(s). As a human, you usually get a set of instructions from your mom and another set from your dad... more(link is external)
Inheritance: genetic information passed down from a parent.
Phenotype: the appearance of an individual that results from the interaction between their genetic makeup and the environment. Phenotypic trait... more(link is external)
Trait: a characteristic of an organism that can be the result of genes and/or influenced by the environment. Traits can be physical like hair color or the shape and size of a plant leaf. Traits can also be behaviors such as nest building behavior in birds.
**Some of the content on this page is out of date, please pardon us while we update it for accuracy.**
Below is a list of phenotypes easily identified in humans that follow the pattern of Mendelian inheritance. Look at yourself in the mirror to see if you carry the dominant or recessive alleles for these traits.
Cleft chin (dominant) | Chin without a cleft (recessive) | |
![]() Wikimedia - cutehappybrute | ![]() Wikimedia - David Tribble | |
Cheek dimples (dominant) | No cheek dimples (recessive) | |
![]() Wikimedia - C. Szeto | ![]() Ask A Biologist - Jacob Mayfield | |
Free (dominant) earlobes | Attached (recessive) earlobes | |
![]() Wikimedia - David Benbennick | ![]() Wikimedia - Covalent | |
Face freckles (dominant) | No face freckles (recessive) | |
![]() Wikimedia - Loyna | ![]() Wikimedia - David Tribble | |
No Hitchhiker's thumb (dominant) | Hitchhiker's thumb (recessive) | |
![]() Wikimedia - manic rage | ![]() Wikimedia - drozd | |
Widow's peak (dominant) | No Widow's peak (recessive) | |
![]() Wikimedia - ccupload | ![]() Wikimedia - ccupload |
The expression of traits, however, is often far more complicated than in those listed above or those which Mendel observed in his garden. Sometimes tens, or even hundreds of genes can play a role in just one trait! In some cases, genes can block or exaggerate processes in the cell which change the visible phenotype. In other cases, environmental factors such temperature, light, and nutrient levels influence the development of a phenotype. Below is a list of traits in humans involving interaction between multiple genes.
Eye color | ||
![]() Wikimedia - marc davis | ![]() Wikimedia - pranav yaddanapudi | |
![]() Wikimedia - D. Sharon Pruitt | ![]() Wikimedia - Pedram Amiri | |
Hair Color | ||
![]() Wikimedia - Stephen Key | ![]() Wikimedia - Marc Davis | |
![]() Wikimedia - Alvesgaspar | ![]() Wikimedia - Nicolas Genin | |
Ability to roll tongue | ||
![]() Wikimedia - Gideon Tsang | ![]()
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References:
List of Mendelian traits in humans. In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mendelian_traits_in_humans(link is external)
Additional images via Wikimedia. Close up of iris by Petr Novák.
Sabine Deviche. (2010, July 20). Human Traits. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved February 1, 2025 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/mendelian-traits-humans
Sabine Deviche. "Human Traits". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 20 July, 2010. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/mendelian-traits-humans
Sabine Deviche. "Human Traits". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 20 Jul 2010. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 1 Feb 2025. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/mendelian-traits-humans
Eye color is not a Mendelian trait because it is controlled by several genes, in addition to other factors.
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