polymorphism
Let an agent explain biological polymorphism and its kinds, relay mechanisms that maintain it from evolutionary and genetic references, describe examples across organisms, and distinguish the biological sense from polymorphism in chemistry and computing.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain biological polymorphism and its kinds, relay mechanisms that maintain it from evolutionary and genetic references, describe examples across organisms, and distinguish the biological sense from polymorphism in chemistry and computing.
In biology, the occurrence of two or more clearly different forms or morphs within a population of a species, such as colour polymorphism in butterflies and snails, sexual dimorphism, heterostyly in plants with different flower forms, caste polymorphism in social insects, the polyp and medusa forms of cnidarians, and at the genetic level variation such as single nucleotide polymorphisms and heteroplasmy of mitochondrial DNA; polymorphism is maintained by selection, and the word has other senses in chemistry and computing.
What it is for: Not applicable; a biological concept.
It can be explain kinds; relay maintaining mechanisms; describe examples; distinguish other senses.
Distinguishing features
Discrete morphs
Within-population variation
Selective maintenance
Phenotypic and genetic levels
What it looks like
Not a visible object; distinct morphs within a species.
Physical character
human SNPs catalogued: hundreds of millions - dbSNP
How it is recognised
Multiple discrete forms within a population
Colour polymorphism, dimorphism, heterostyly, insect castes, cnidarian polyp and medusa, genetic polymorphism, heteroplasmy
Crystal polymorphism in chemistry and polymorphism in programming are different concepts
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms, the general concept
is maintained by - in many cases
is exemplified by - between sexes
is contrasted with - in chemistry
In practice
Families and kinds
colour and pattern polymorphism
sexual dimorphism
heterostyly and other floral polymorphisms
caste polymorphism in social insects
life-stage polymorphism in cnidarians
genetic polymorphism including SNPs and balanced polymorphism
heteroplasmy in mitochondrial DNA
Standards and regulation
No regulation; genetic variation databases and nomenclature standards
Failure modes and hazards
Confusing biological with chemical or computing senses
Confusing continuous variation with polymorphism
Oversimplifying maintenance mechanisms
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.polymorphism-2
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What polymorphism is.
Science.
Definition
Definition and kinds.
Definition
Definition.
- What is polymorphism in biology, and what kinds exist from colour morphs and dimorphism to heterostyly and insect castes? definition
- Is the question about biological polymorphism or the chemistry or computing sense? boundary
Genetic
Genetic polymorphism.
Genetic
Genetic.
- What are SNPs, balanced polymorphisms and heteroplasmy? definition
- Which entry fits the specific kind? action
Mechanisms Maintenance.
Science.
Selection
Selection.
Selection
Selection.
- How do balancing selection, frequency dependence and heterozygote advantage maintain polymorphism? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Development
Development.
Development
Development.
- How do genes and environment produce discrete morphs, as in castes and cnidarian forms? provenance
- Which entry fits polyphenism? action
Examples Examples.
Sources.
Classic
Classic cases.
Classic
Classic.
- What do the peppered moth, Cepaea snails, heterostyly in primroses and Cnidaria show? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Human
Human polymorphism.
Human
Human.
- How is human genetic polymorphism used in medicine and ancestry? provenance
- Which entry fits single-nucleotide polymorphism? action
Context History and other senses.
Context.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did Ford, Fisher and others develop the study of polymorphism? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of evolutionary biology? action
Other
Other senses.
Other
Other.
- What are polymorphism in crystals and in object-oriented programming? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific sense? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should sexual dimorphism and single nucleotide polymorphism be separate primary entries?
- How should evolutionary references be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific forms; should they be split off?