DUE THURSDAY NIGHT 11pm PACIFIC TIME 5/16
For this assignment, pick a character that interests you (from any eukaryotic organism — can be humans, any species of plant or animal, etc.) The character must be one that is heritable (meaning passed down through one or more genes), and it must be one that is understood well-enough to write about.
Do some research to understand which gene(s) and alleles (dominant & recessive) play a role in this character, and what the possible traits or phenotypes are (related to different genotypes). If the genetic locus of the gene is known, find out what it is.
Does the gene (or genes) involved participate in any of the topics we’ve discussed? Incomplete dominance, codominance, epistasis, pleiotropy, polygenic inheritance, sex-linked characteristics, etc?
If there are multiple genes that participate in polygenic inheritance, what are the other genes?
If the gene you’re studying is pleiotropic, what are the other characters that it affects?
If the gene(s) participate in epistasis, what other gene(s) play a role in determining the character you’re studying?
How does this character affect the organism you’re studying?
Are there any other interesting patterns or characteristics related to this character/gene/trait? Learn as much as you can.
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WHAT YOU WILL WRITE
Once you’ve compiled your research, write ~2-3 paragraphs (using full sentences) describing what you have learned, based on the guidelines above. You may write more if desired.
You must cite at least 2 reputable sources at the end. Any citation format is fine. If you use a website, you can simply paste the link — I just need to be able to see where you are sourcing your information. (Wikipedia is a good resource, just remember you cannot cite Wikipedia directly — use it to find other good sources.)
You can paste your submission directly into Canvas OR upload a Word document. Other file formats may not upload properly. You can always resubmit (before the deadline) if an upload goes wrong.
Submissions will be checked for plagiarism. It’s typical that common phrases will get flagged, so most submissions will have at least some portions flagged — don’t worry if this is the case. However, if you plagiarize significant portions of text OR use chatGPT, it will be obvious to myself and Turnitin, and you will receive a zero.
Formatting is flexible, as long as I can understand your writing, though points may be deducted for significant grammar/spelling errors.
