What is a “marker” and how does it differ from a “gene” in biotechnology studies?
A marker is a visible or otherwise detectable tag that is used to track or monitor genetic differences/changes in a target organism, population, etc. It may well be a gene, but is not necessarily so. It may be a phenotype (morphological, biochemical, or molecular), with any of a number of causes (each of which has a genetic basis) but is not necessarily a gene itself (ie, the marker may not generate a known, or even an unknown, RNA, enzyme or protein, which a gene must do). It may be a genetic difference (with respect to the organisms targeted for distinction) in a non-gene or gene region but too small to affect the gene product (eg, a single base pair, etc.
A marker is a visible or otherwise detectable tag that is used to track or monitor genetic differences/changes in a target organism, population, etc. It may well be a gene, but is not necessarily so. It may be a phenotype (morphological, biochemical, or molecular), with any of a number of causes (each of which has a genetic basis) but is not necessarily a gene itself (ie, the marker may not generate a known, or even an unknown, RNA, enzyme or protein, which a gene must do).
