Question

Difficulty: EasyContinuous and Discontinuous Variation

Match each biological trait on the left with its corresponding category of variation and genetic control on the right.

  • Human heightContinuous variation controlled by polygenes and environmental factors
  • ABO blood groupDiscontinuous variation controlled by a single gene locus with multiple alleles
  • Fingerprint patternDiscontinuous variation exhibiting distinct qualitative categories

Answer

Human height matches continuous variation controlled by polygenes and environmental factors; ABO blood group matches discontinuous variation controlled by a single gene locus with multiple alleles; Fingerprint pattern matches discontinuous variation exhibiting distinct qualitative categories.
Human height is a quantitative feature showing continuous variation influenced by polygenes and the environment. In contrast, ABO blood groups and fingerprint patterns are qualitative traits exhibiting discontinuous variation with distinct, clear-cut phenotypic categories.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze human height variation.
Height displays a continuous range of phenotypes with no clear separation between types.
It is a quantitative trait controlled by polygenes and influenced by environmental conditions.
2
Analyze ABO blood group variation.
Blood groups exist in distinct classes (A, B, AB, O) without intermediate phenotypes.
It is a monogenic trait controlled by multiple alleles at a single locus.
3
Analyze fingerprint pattern variation.
Fingerprint patterns fall into distinct categories such as arches, loops, and whorls.
It exhibits clear-cut discrete categories characteristic of discontinuous variation.

Key Concept

Continuous variation presents an unbroken spectrum of intermediate phenotypes regulated by polygenes, whereas discontinuous variation exhibits distinct, non-overlapping phenotypic categories controlled by one or a few genes.
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