WHAT ARE THE BRANCHES OF GENETICS? - BIOLOGY - 2025

The branches of genetics are classical, molecular, population, quantitative, ecological, developmental, microbial, behavioral, and genetic engineering genetics. Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms.

It is generally considered a field of biology, but frequently intersects with many other life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems.

The father of genetics is Gregor Mendel, a late 19th century scientist and Augustinian friar who studied "trait inheritance," patterns in the way traits are passed from parents to children. He observed that organisms inherit traits through discrete "units of inheritance," now known as gene or genes.

The inheritance of traits and the mechanisms of molecular inheritance of genes remain primary principles of genetics in the 21st century, but modern genetics has extended beyond inheritance to study the function and behavior of genes.

Genetic structure and function, variation, and distribution are studied within the context of the cell, the organism, and within the context of a population.

The organisms studied within the broad fields span the domain of life, including bacteria, plants, animals, and humans.

Main branches of genetics

Modern genetics has differed greatly from classical genetics and has undergone certain areas of study that include more specific objectives related to other areas of science.

Classical genetics

Classical genetics is the branch of genetics based solely on the visible results of reproductive acts.

It is the oldest discipline in the field of genetics, going back to Gregor Mendel's experiments on Mendelian inheritance, which allowed us to identify the basic mechanisms of inheritance.

Classical genetics consists of the techniques and methodologies of genetics that were in use before the advent of molecular biology.

A key discovery of classical genetics in eukaryotes was genetic linkage. The observation that some genes do not segregate independently in meiosis broke the laws of Mendelian inheritance and provided science with a way to correlate characteristics with a location on chromosomes.

Molecular Genetic

Molecular genetics is the branch of genetics that encompasses the order and office of genes. Therefore it employs molecular biology and genetic methods.

Studying the chromosomes and gene expression of an organism can give insight into inheritance, genetic variation, and mutations. This is useful in studying developmental biology and in understanding and treating genetic diseases.

Population genetics

Population genetics is a branch of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is part of evolutionary biology.

Studies in this branch of genetics examine phenomena such as adaptation, speciation, and population structure.

Population genetics was a vital ingredient in the emergence of modern evolutionary synthesis. Its primary founders were Sewall Wright, JBS Haldane, and Ronald Fisher, who also laid the groundwork for the related discipline of quantitative genetics.

It is traditionally a highly mathematical discipline. Modern population genetics encompasses theoretical, laboratory, and field work.

Quantitative genetics

Quantitative genetics is a branch of population genetics that deals with continuously varying phenotypes (in characters such as height or mass) as opposed to discretely identifiable phenotypes and gene products (such as eye color or the presence of a particular biochemical).

Ecological genetics

Ecological genetics is the study of how ecologically relevant traits evolve in natural populations.

Early research in ecological genetics showed that natural selection is often strong enough to generate rapid adaptive changes in nature.

Current work has expanded our understanding of the temporal and spatial scales on which natural selection can operate in nature.

Research in this field focuses on ecologically important traits, that is, fitness-related traits, that affect the survival and reproduction of an organism.

Examples could be: flowering time, tolerance to drought, polymorphism, mimicry, avoiding attacks by predators, among others.

genetic engineering

Genetic engineering, also known as genetic modification, is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome through biotechnology.

It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including transferring genes within and between species boundaries to produce new or improved organisms.

The new DNA is obtained by isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using molecular cloning methods or by artificially synthesizing the DNA. A clear example resulting from this branch is the world-popular Dolly the sheep.

Developmental genetics

Developmental genetics is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop.

Developmental genetics also encompasses the biology of regeneration, asexual reproduction and metamorphosis, and the growth and differentiation of stem cells in the adult organism.

Microbial genetics

Microbial genetics is a branch within microbiology and genetic engineering. Study the genetics of very small microorganisms; bacteria, archaea, viruses and some protozoa and fungi.

This involves the study of the genotype of the microbial species and also the expression system in the form of phenotypes.

Since the discovery of microorganisms by two Royal Society Fellows, Robert Hooke and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek during the period 1665-1885, they have been used to study many processes and have had applications in various areas of study in genetics.

Behavioral genetics

Behavioral genetics, also known as behavioral genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behavior.

While the name "behavioral genetics" connotes a focus on genetic influences, the field extensively investigates genetic and environmental influences, using research designs that allow for the elimination of the confusion of genes and the environment.

References

1. Dr Ananya Mandal, MD. (2013). What is Genetics ?. August 2, 2017, from News Medical Life Sciences Website: news-medical.net
2. Mark C Urban. (2016). Ecological Genetics. August 2, 2017, from University of Connecticut Website: els.net
3. Griffiths, Anthony JF; Miller, Jeffrey H.; Suzuki, David T.; Lewontin, Richard C.; Gelbart, eds. (2000). "Genetics and the Organism: Introduction". An Introduction to Genetic Analysis (7th ed.). New York: WH Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-3520-2.
4. Weiling, F (1991). "Historical study: Johann Gregor Mendel 1822–1884." American Journal of Medical Genetics. 40 (1): 1–25; discussion 26. PMID 1887835. doi: 10.1002 / ajmg.1320400103.
5. Ewens WJ (2004). Mathematical Population Genetics (2nd Edition). Springer-Verlag, New York. ISBN 0-387-20191-2.
6. Falconer, DS; Mackay, Trudy FC (1996). Introduction to quantitative genetics (Fourth ed.). Harlow: Longman. ISBN 978-0582-24302-6. Lay summary - Genetics (journal) (24 August 2014).
7. Ford EB 1975. Ecological genetics, 4th ed. Chapman and Hall, London.
8. Dobzhansky, Theodosius. Genetics and the origin of species. Columbia, NY 1st ed 1937; second ed 1941; 3rd ed 1951.
9. Nicholl, Desmond ST (2008-05-29). An Introduction to Genetic Engineering. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 9781139471787.
10. Loehlin JC (2009). "History of behavior genetics". In Kim Y. Handbook of behavior genetics (1 ed.). New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-76726-0. doi: 10.1007 / 978-0-387-76727-7_1.