variation

• organisms of the same species have differences
• differences are called the variation within a species
• 2 types of variation

  genetic variation

  environmental variation
• variation can be genetic - means it is called by differences in genotype
• genotype id all of the genes and alleles an organism has
• an organisms genotype affects its phenotype - characteristics that are displayed
• an organisms genes are inherited from its parents
• characteristics are also influenced by the environment
• most variation in phenotype is determined by a mixture of genetic and environmental factors
• mutations are changes to the genome
• mutations mean that the gene is altered which produces a genetic variant
• as the gene codes for the sequences of amino acid that make up a protein, gene mutations sometimes lead to changed in the protein that it codes for
• mostgenetic variants have very little to no effect on the protein the gene codes for, meaning most mutations have no effect on an organisms phenotypw
• very occasionally, variants cant have such a dramatic effect that they determine phenotype
• if the environment changes and the new phentoype makes an individual more suited to the new environment, it can become common throughout the species relatively quickly by natural selection