Polymorphism

2 ANSWERS

1. GiGi
   

   Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph.
   
   The shorter term morphism may be more accurate than polymorphism, but is not often used. It was the preferred term of the evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley.
   
   Polymorphism is extremely common; it is a kind of variation related to biodiversity, genetic variation and adaptation. Polymorphism usually functions to retain variety of form in a population living in a varied environment. The most common example of polymorphism is the sexual dimorphism of most higher organisms; this retains diversity by the process of genetic recombination. Other examples are mimetic forms of butterflies (see mimicry), certain cryptic forms of moths, the banding pattern on snail shells, human blood groups and many other cases.
   
   Polymorphism (Greek: poly = many, and morph = form) is often defined as the presence of more than one genetically distinct type in a single population — meaning, the population is in the same location and is interbreeding. The term was first used to describe visible forms, but by extension we now use the term to include cryptic morphs, for instance blood types, which can be made manifest by a test.
   
   Polymorphism results from an evolutionary process, as does any aspect of a species. Polymorphism is heritable, and is modified by selection (either artificial or in the wild). In polyphenism, an individual's genetic make-up allows for different morphs, and the switch mechanism that determines which morph is shown is environmental. In genetic polymorphism or balanced polymorphism, the genetic make-up determines the morph. Ants exhibit both types of morphism.
   
   Polymorphism as described here involves morphs of the phenotype. The term is also used somewhat differently by molecular biologists to describe certain point mutations in the genotype, such as SNPs. This usage is not discussed in this article.

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2. Guest5076
   

   what about polymorphism in religion?

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