2010/11/01 by Frank W. Stearns · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks #Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms #Caveolin-1 and cellular processes
paper · pdf · doi:10.1534/genetics.110.122549
openalex publication_date 2010/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Pleiotropy is defined as the phenomenon in which a single locus affects two or more distinct phenotypic traits. The term was formally introduced into the literature by the German geneticist Ludwig Plate in 1910, 100 years ago. Pleiotropy has had an important influence on the fields of physiological and medical genetics as well as on evolutionary biology. Different approaches to the study of pleiotropy have led to incongruence in the way that it is perceived and discussed among researchers in these fields. Furthermore, our understanding of the term has changed quite a bit since 1910, particularly in light of modern molecular data. This review traces the history of the term "pleiotropy" and reevaluates its current place in the field of genetics.