Acquired and Inherited Traits - Difference & Meaning

Acquired and Inherited traits explain how organisms adapt to their environment. Acquired traits are those that develop in the lifetime of the organism itself, whereas inherited traits are passed on from generation to generation. In the major exams like NEET, AIIMS, Nursing and paramedical entrance exams around 2-3% of the total marks are based on this biology topic of CBSE Class 12 Chapter Principles of Inheritance and Variation.

Acquired Traits

A trait that creates a phenotype that is affected by various environmental activities is known as an acquired trait. Acquired characteristics are not encoded in the DNA of a person, so many scientists thought that they could not be transferred to the next generation during reproduction. A trait must be a part of any particular genotype to be handed down to the next generation. It means an acquired trait is built into the DNA of that person.

The non-heritable modifications in the function and shape of the living organisms that come over after birth as any disease, abuse, accident, cut and other environmental effects. Acquired characteristics and acquired traits are both similar types of things. They are not passed through generations. Acquired characteristics can take a number of forms and have various sides of visibility, but they all have one thing in general.

As an example of an acquired trait, The muscles of a bodybuilder she gain it by doing hard physical exercises and strict diets.

Acquired Traits Examples

Muscle Building: The growing of muscles that results from performing regular weight training is an acquired trait.
Language Proficiency: The knowledge of multiple languages, which is acquired through learning and practice, is an acquired trait.
Tanned Skin: Getting dark-skinned due to the multiple exposures to the sun is an acquired trait.

Lamarck, Darwin And Acquired Traits

The great scientist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck does the fault of thinking that acquired traits may be transferred from the parents to their children and that their offspring become more favourable to their environment and more eligible than parents. This theory was published in the first publication of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection of Charles Darwin. However, this was removed after some objections that acquired characteristics do not transfer from generation to generation.

The offspring of bodybuilders with more and stronger muscles could be an example of an acquired trait. Lamarck thought that the offspring would be born with the similar size and shape of muscles as their parents. But in reality, the larger muscles were not transferred to the children because it was an acquired characteristic which is a result of hard physical training and proper protein gain.

Inherited Traits

These traits or characteristics are transferred from parents to their young ones. Humans have acquired features such as the colour of hair, eye colour, skin tone, shape of body, and height. The particular hereditary features are defined by their genes. In a single human cell, there are about 25,000 to 35,000 genes. All the characteristics that a child gets from his parents are encoded in genes.

Sir Gregor John Mendel popularized the concept of hereditary characters with the help of his pea experiment. He explained dominant characteristics as those that are visible in the offspring, whereas recessive traits are those that are not visible in them.

Sir Gregor John Mendel used the following inheritance laws to explain the hereditary traits:

Law Of Dominance

When two opposite types of character are present in a single, only one dominates itself in the F1 progeny and is referred to as the dominant trait. The recessive trait is the opposite of the dominant trait.

Law Of Segregation

This law states that during the formation of gametes, two copies of every hereditary character segregate so that offspring or F2 generation get one character from each parent or F1 generation.

Law Of Independent Assortment

When two pairs of traits are combined again, the segregation of one's character pairs during gamete production is not dependent on the other's character pairs.

In a current study we get to know that Lamarck was not fully wrong, because according to the researchers of Columbia University Medical Center, the roundworms have the quality of resistance from a special virus so they handed that protection down to their offspring for the next generations.

Inherited Traits Examples

Blood Type: Inherited blood type could either be A, B, AB, or O.
Eye Color: The genes from parents give a person their eye colour.
Ear Shape: Ear shape is another aspect of the body that is inherited.

Difference Between Acquired Traits And Inherited Traits

The main differences between acquired traits and inherited traits are as follows:

Why Are Acquired Traits Not Inherited?

Acquired traits are not transferred as they do not affect the DNA of the organism, and thus refer as the genetic code.
These are thus encoded into the DNA of an organism and then passed down to progeny through various reproductive processes.
Lamarck proposed that acquired traits are heritable, yet there is no evidence supporting this theory except for scientific proof that such is impossible.
The experiments done by Mendel and the discovery of DNA structure by Watson and Crick proved that the features encoded within genes are the ones inherited.
Example: Muscles gained through exercise are an acquired trait and thus will not be passed to their offspring since it does not alter the genetic material.

Tips, Tricks, And Strategies To Prepare For Acquired And Inherited Traits

Prepare Study Aids: Use diagrams or compare tables to show the difference between acquired and inherited traits so that important concepts seem more tangible in your mind.

Use Mnemonics: Use mnemonics to remember specific points on inheritance by using words like "GED" (Genes, Environment, DNA) when recalling how traits are inherited and acquired.

Multimedia Learning: Watch videos or animations related to genetic inheritance and evolution. These indeed make concepts as complex and hard to understand as the story of Mendel's experiment or that of Lamarck's discredited theory so easy to understand.

Apply to Real Life: Try to relate how inherited and acquired traits pertain to your daily life, like hair colour, which is inherited, and muscle gain, which is acquired.

Use flashcards: Again, make flashcards of important terms such as "genetic traits," "Lamarckism," or "natural selection," and challenge yourself to distinguish between characteristics that are acquired vs. inherited.

Weightage Of Questions From Acquired And Inherited Traits In Different Exams

Here's a summary of the weightage of questions related to acquired and inherited traits in various exams:

Types of Questions Asked On Acquired And Inherited Traits In Different Exams

Here's a summary of the various types of questions asked in different exams on acquired and inherited traits:

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Conclusion

Understanding the difference between acquired and inherited traits is important for students wanting to study genetics. Acquired traits are developed by the environment and by learning, whereas inherited traits are passed on through genes. The study of these traits serves as an important framework for understanding the complexities that include genetics, evolution, and heredity in biology.

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