Genetics

Genetics, (from Ancient Greek γενετικός genetikos, “genitive” and that from γένεσις genesis, “origin”), a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century. Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits via discrete units of inheritance, which are now called genes.

Genes are responsible for all characteristics of an organism - colour, behaviour and body conformation are all controlled by the genes passed down from the parents. Some genes are able to change the characteristics of the bird on their own, while other genes work together to form a specific trait. It is important to remember that some traits are so complex that their expression is controlled by hundreds or even thousands of genes.