Can acquired traits be inherited?

[rktpro]

My book provides a little knowledge about this. It says acquired traits can't be inherited. But the theory of evolution is based on it. Isn't it. Haven't homologous organs arise due to change in environment and other factors. I mean to say the once a trait is acquired, it may be inherited in the further generations.

[HuMoDz]

What kind of trait is that, exactly?No, Darwinian evolution isn't based on acquired traits, that's Lamarckism.Imagine a savanna populated by primitive giraffes, with shorter necks than the modern ones. Then, some catastrophe happens and the giraffes can only eat from tall trees, that not every giraffe can reach.

According to darwinism, shorter necked giraffes die, longer necked giraffes survive and repopulate the dead giraffes, now almost every giraffe can reach those trees.

According to lamarckism, the shorter necked giraffe's neck will grow until they reach the leaves, and their offsprings will inhert longer necks. We consider darwinism correct and lamarckism wrong nowadays.

Haven't homologous organs arise due to change in environment and other factors.

The living creatures with the required traits survive, the others die. The survivors procreate, and now only there's predominantly this kind of creature. The did not acquire that trait along their life, at least if the trait is an organ

Edited December 28, 2011 by HuMoDz

[Appolinaria]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060807154715.htm

[Maximilian]

I think you may be misunderstanding the term. In this context, "acquired trait" refers to a trait that is acquired during the organism's lifetime. So for example; if my muscle mass increases because I do a lot of exercise or I eat a lot of food and become really fat, these would be acquired traits or acquired characteristics. This is because these changes in the phenotype do not come because of changes in the genotype, but because of the interaction genotype's interaction with the environment.

 

A novel trait that emerges due to a mutation is not an acquired trait.

 

You can see a simple explanation here: http://utahscience.oremjr.alpine.k12.ut.us/Sciber01/7th/cells/html/inhvsacq.htm

 

This is an oversimplification, as epigenetic variations can be transmitted from parents to progeny.

[rktpro]

So, if it is the case that acquired traits can't be inherited, or can only be inherited if they reach the genes, this means that, homologous organs, which have different no. of bones have arise not because of environment but because of change in genes. What is the factor that has governed it?

[Tres Juicy]

So, if it is the case that acquired traits can't be inherited, or can only be inherited if they reach the genes, this means that, homologous organs, which have different no. of bones have arise not because of environment but because of change in genes. What is the factor that has governed it?

 

 

New traits/mutations arise all the time, beneficial ones get passed on more often than those which are detrimental

[rktpro]

New traits/mutations arise all the time, beneficial ones get passed on more often than those which are detrimental

 

Who decides what is beneficial or not?

[Tres Juicy]

Who decides what is beneficial or not?

 

 

Whether or not you survive long enough to pass on your genes

 

Or, if you will - Life

 

A creature with a beneficial mutation may be more successful (at finding food, evading predators, surviving the climate...etc...) than one without it.

 

Conversely, a creature with a detrimental mutation will likely die and not pass it on to the next generation.

Edited January 11, 2012 by Tres Juicy

[rktpro]

Whether or not you survive long enough to pass on your genes

 

Or, if you will - Life

 

A creature with a beneficial mutation may be more successful (at finding food, evading predators, surviving the climate...etc...) than one without it.

 

Conversely, a creature with a detrimental mutation will likely die and not pass it on to the next generation.

 

So 'life' decides whether a trait will go to gene level or not? Do we call it nature? Is it like a game of chance?

[questionposter]

I think it might be confusing because the ability to acquire traits might be related to inherited traits.

[Tres Juicy]

So 'life' decides whether a trait will go to gene level or not? Do we call it nature? Is it like a game of chance?

 

 

No, mutations happen at the genetic level and may be passed on (if beneficial).

 

As to how aquired traits go to gene level I'm not sure (I'm not even convinced that they do, I mean body-builders don't generate really strong muscley offspring)

[Myuncle]

Do we call it nature? Is it like a game of chance?

Do you mean if these mutations happen naturally? Yes absolutely, nature is the best inventor, nature invented wheels, wings, DNA, fire, electricity, and we just observed and learned how to use them to make life more comfortable or defend ourselves against rivals. Our DNA is not something stable at all, even within your lifetime your DNA will change slightly.

Do mutations happen accidentally? Absolutely yes, think about kids, they will never be identical to their parents, they can be born with a longer neck, smaller nose, smaller heart, six fingers, six arms, two heads, this happens everyday, you can imagine all this in millions of years, everything started with bacteria, bacteria are our farthest ancestors. Who created bacteria or who created atoms? We don't know.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Myuncle

[rktpro]

@Myuncle,

I want to know what causes the acquired trait to move to the gene level? Is this nature? My teacher said it isn't. She said it is a game of chance.

[Myuncle]

@Myuncle,

I want to know what causes the acquired trait to move to the gene level? Is this nature? My teacher said it isn't. She said it is a game of chance.

 

I suppose it's both: most passages to gene level are both natural and they happen by chance. I am not an expert about how the passage takes place. In any case if you have big muscles for examples, thanks to a healthy physical activity and not thanks to steroids, your kids have more chances to grow up with big muscles as well (but if you lose one leg, your kids are going to be born with both legs of course). I hope experts will chime in.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Myuncle

[Delta1212]

I suppose it's both: most passages to gene level are both natural and they happen by chance. I am not an expert about how the passage takes place. In any case if you have big muscles for examples, thanks to a healthy physical activity and not thanks to steroids, your kids have more chances to grow up with big muscles as well (but if you lose one leg, your kids are going to be born with both legs of course). I hope experts will chime in.

 

That's not really how it works.

 

Let's use a video game as a metaphor. Say two people go out and buy copies of the same game. The code of the game is like DNA. It determines all of the possible attributes of the game. Now, the players take that same code and they might have different playing experiences. They make different choices in the game, and this leads to save files that are quite different from one another. Maybe one decided to max out his strength and the other decided to max out his intelligence. They're working off the same basic code, but they do different things with it. The save files are like the acquired traits.

 

Now, let's say they each decide to lend their copy of the game to a friend. The friend receiving the game from the person who maxed out his strength isn't going to find it easier to max out his strength than his intelligence; neither is the friend who received the game from the person who maxed out his intelligence going to find it easier to max out his intelligence than his strength. They're still working off of the exact same code (DNA). The save files (acquired traits) of previous players will never have an impact on someone who is starting a new game.

 

If, however, one of the players decides to hack his game and edit the code that it's running off of in order to make it easier to max out his stats, then anyone who receives his copy of the game (this edited DNA) will find it easier to max out his stats as well. Their save files (acquired traits) will be based off of this altered version.

 

Basically, changes only move in one direction. A change to someone's DNA will result in a different set of possible acquired traits. But a person's acquired traits won't go in and start editing a person's DNA.

 

Actual changes to the DNA happen randomly. Maybe when it is making a copy of itself, it screws up a bit. Imagine putting a document in a photocopier, taking the copy and sticking it back in to make a copy of the copy and repeating that a hundred times. If you held up the end product next to the original document, chances are you'd be able to tell which was which, because the copying process isn't 100% perfect. Or maybe you're exposed to radiation, which is a bit like someone chucking rocks at your DNA until they hit something and break it. When the DNA copies itself again, it will retain the new form introduced by these changes.

 

Now, most of the time, the changes won't do anything, or they'll do something bad. It's like spilling something on a table. The overwhelming majority of the time, you're just going to make a mess. But one guy accidentally invented flash paper by knocking over some chemicals onto his notes. Every once in a while, something that usually just causes problems winds up creating something new and interesting. It works the same way with these random changes to your DNA.

 

Maybe when you have children, there will be a copy error that happens to change the DNA you give them in just the right way to make building muscle mass easier. They'll grow up stronger, and their children will grow up stronger, but there's nothing you could do to cause it to take place. It's just a random accident that's no more or less likely to happen to a couch potato than it is to a body builder.

[DrRocket]

My book provides a little knowledge about this. It says acquired traits can't be inherited. But the theory of evolution is based on it. Isn't it. Haven't homologous organs arise due to change in environment and other factors. I mean to say the once a trait is acquired, it may be inherited in the further generations.

 

Joe Kennedy acquired the trait of being rich.

 

John, Bobby, and Teddy inherited that trait.

[rktpro]

Delta1212,

Thanks for the information. So, it is all accident. I wonder what science has named that. What is the scientific term?

 

DrRocket, You seem quite an interesting man. I thought you spend time on math and science but you keep looking at biology section too. Interesting!

[jimmydasaint]

Delta1212,

Thanks for the information. So, it is all accident. I wonder what science has named that. What is the scientific term?

 

 

I think it goes in the following order:

 

• 
   
  
• Many members of a species in competition for food, space, water, mates
  
• Variation in the code (DNA) due to small changes called mutations, do that all members of a species are slightly different (mutations caused by errors in copying DNA or from chemicals in the atmosphere or from radiation affecting the DNA code)
  
• Nature causes some to be selected e.g. after an event that causes death of thhose with the 'wrong' DNA
  
• The survivors pass their version of the DNA to their children (descendants)
  

 

For example a small section of DNA that codes for 'features' is called a gene or allele. If a woman has a mutated gene or allele that prevents muscle being broken down after exercise, she could be unusually strong. If her husband also has a mutated allele for unusual strength, due to having loads of muscle and they have a baby, that baby also has a chance of receiving two mutated alleles and therefore being much stronger than other children.

 

This was shown to be the case for this child in Germany:

 

BOSTON Somewhere in Germany is a baby Superman, born in Berlin with bulging arm and leg muscles. Not yet 5, he can hold seven-pound weights with arms extended, something many adults cannot do. He has muscles twice the size of other kids his age and half their body fat.

 

DNA testing showed why: The boy has a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth.

 

The discovery, reported in Thursdays New England Journal of Medicine, represents the first documented human case of such a mutation.

 

Article

Edited January 15, 2012 by jimmydasaint

[rktpro]

• Nature causes some to be selected e.g. after an event that causes death of those with the 'wrong' DNA

 

No, that is natural selection. It is selection by nature whether a specie survive or not. My question is, How acquired traits reach the gene level?

[questionposter]

No, that is natural selection. It is selection by nature whether a specie survive or not. My question is, How acquired traits reach the gene level?

 

Acquired traits don't reach the gene level, the ability to require them does. If both your parents are good at math, your not going to be born automatically knowing how to do all sorts of equations, but it is likely you will be born with the ability to learn math quickly.

[Santalum]

My book provides a little knowledge about this. It says acquired traits can't be inherited. But the theory of evolution is based on it. Isn't it. Haven't homologous organs arise due to change in environment and other factors. I mean to say the once a trait is acquired, it may be inherited in the further generations.

 

 

The is a whole new branch of genetics dedicated to this called epigenetics.

 

Various chemicals proteins can bind to the initiator, promoter and enhancer regions of a gene and thus alter how those genes are expressed.

 

This is believed to be the underlying cause of some human diseases, including some cancers.

 

So it is quite possible that a smoker, for example, can pass on their increased risk of lung cancer to their children.

 

Because your DNA, complete with all the attached chemicals and proteins can be passed on to your children.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Santalum