1. What is genetic heritage?

The cell's genetic heritage is found in the nucleus in the form of chromosomes: this is the genotype.

A chromosome is a structure made up of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is made up of a succession of nucleotides that code for genes. The nucleotides are aligned on two chains (strands of DNA) facing each other, forming the DNA double helix. Chromosomes differ in number from species to species, but each species has a specific number of chromosome pairs in the nucleus of each of its cells. These pairs are common to both sexes, except for two sex chromosomes. The sex chromosomes form a similar pair in the female (the X chromosomes). In the male, they are different: one is an X chromosome and the other, much shorter, is called a Y chromosome.

The human species has 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus of each of its cells, 22 pairs of which...