We seem to care most about fitness related traits, and fitness related traits usually have a decent genetic component. However, what makes a trait a good indicator of genetic quality is that it has a large mutational target size, hence most traits we would care for to know which genes affect them are highly polygenic and not under the straightforward influence of only a few genes.
This seems to be the general finding of recent genetic association studies. They find many genes of low effect, but no single ones which could serve as the target for identification or intervention or even designer babies. This seems to be where a lot of disappointment in genetics is coming from.
This doesn’t apply to non-fitness related traits of course, though they could be highly polygenic for other reasons.
We seem to care most about fitness related traits, and fitness related traits usually have a decent genetic component. However, what makes a trait a good indicator of genetic quality is that it has a large mutational target size, hence most traits we would care for to know which genes affect them are highly polygenic and not under the straightforward influence of only a few genes.
This seems to be the general finding of recent genetic association studies. They find many genes of low effect, but no single ones which could serve as the target for identification or intervention or even designer babies. This seems to be where a lot of disappointment in genetics is coming from.
This doesn’t apply to non-fitness related traits of course, though they could be highly polygenic for other reasons.