Tejinder Kaur, Academic Content Creator at Edumarz
What is Variation?
Variations are the changes or differences observed in the genetic makeup of an organism. It arises due to the sexual reproduction between the organisms and ensures that the new generation has all the superior adaptations or features that make their survival easier in the environment.
It is of two types:
Phenotypic variations – the changes in the physical appearance of an organism that arises due to environmental factors are known as phenotypic variations. These changes are not inherited from generation to generation and do not play a significant role in evolution.
Genotypic variations – the changes in the genetic makeup of an organism that arises due to mutations, recombination, etc are known as genotypic variations. These changes are inherited from generation to generation and play a significant role in evolution.
There are numerous advantages of Variations. Some of them are:
It enables better adaptation of an organism as per the changing environment.
Variations improve the survival fitness of organisms.
It gives rise to offspring with superior characters.
It is the main cause of evolution.