A polygene is a member of a group of non-epistatic genes that interact additively to influence a phenotypic trait, thus contributing to multiple-gene inheritance, a type of non-Mendelian inheritance, as opposed to single-gene inheritance, which is the core notion of Mendelian inheritance.

What is an example of a polygenic trait?

A polygenic trait is a characteristic, sometimes we call them phenotypes, that are affected by many, many different genes. A classic example of this would be height. Height in humans is very strongly genetically controlled, but there are many, many different genes that control height.

Which traits are polygenic traits?

In humans, height, skin color, hair color, and eye color are examples of polygenic traits. The term polygenic comes from poly, meaning “many” and genic, meaning “of genes”.