There are two things you can divide a living organism into, phenotypes and genotypes. You can think of these as the two basic structures that determine an organism.
In this blog, we will discuss what phenotypes are and how they are different from genotypes. We will also talk about the phenotype ratio and give a few examples of phenotypes that will help you get a better understanding of what they are. Let’s get started!
What is a Phenotype?
As mentioned, a living organism is made of two core parts: Genotypes and Phenotypes. Phenotypes are basically the physical representation of an organism; this includes all the physical parts, including tissues, atoms, cells, etc.
In short, anything physical that contributes to the structure of an organism is referred to as its phenotype. Now, the question is, why is phenotype significant in the world of cannabis?
Well, that is because it determines most of what’s essential in cannabis, such as the potency, appearance, flavor, effects, and much more.
There’s more!
The progress in technology has enabled modern growers to cultivate strains based on the characteristics they want, and this has to do with phenotypes.
Phenotypes appear when the female plant is fertilized. The resulting seeds contain phenotypes from both the male and female parent plants. Cultivators and manufacturers use particular male plants with certain characteristics to fertilize female plants with other desirable characteristics.
As a result, the seeds produced contain a combination of characteristics (phenotypes) from both the parent plants. In other words, these resulting seeds contain the characteristics (phenotypes) that budtenders require in a strain.
What Is The Difference Between A Genotype And Phenotype?
While the physical attributes and certain characteristics of a strain are determined by its phenotype, genotype defines the genetics of that particular strain.
As the name indicates, the genotype is the genetic combination of each strain that is partly obtained from the parent plant, and is greatly influenced by the environment.
To put it simply, when genotype (the genetic code) interacts with a certain environment (in which the plant lives), it creates phenotypes (the physical structure and attributes).
For context and comprehension, think of Darwin’s theory of evolution. The use of tails is reduced with each generation of apes. The genes interacted with the environment to realize this change and halt the imitation of genetic information related to tails, resulting in our human-like form.
In our current form, examples of phenotypes include our physical characteristics like hair color, height, eye color, voice, and much more.
Examples of Phenotypes in Cannabis
The following examples of phenotypes will help you further understand:
- Smell of the plant
- Color of the plant
- Its chemical structure
- Its size
- Anything else that contributes to the traits and physical blueprints of a strain
What Is A Phenotype Ratio?
A phenotypic ratio measures the frequency with which one phenotype correlates with another. In the world of cannabis, cultivators use this ratio to determine the probability of a particular (desired) trait occurring by breeding two separate strains.
Finding out the phenotypic ratio of a plant enables these manufacturers to determine the probability of getting the desired trait in a resulting strain. The higher that probability is, the greater the chances of acquiring the desired characteristics in the resulting strain.
In a nutshell, phenotypes are physical characteristics of a strain, whereas the phenotypic ratio is a ratio that determines the probability of acquiring a certain trait in the resulting seed. Cultivators breed different strains based on this ratio.
Cultivators often use the test cross method to explore the possible occurrence of phenotypes through genotypes.
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