wizarding genetics (was: strangle hand / slavery / genetics / Mulciber

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 183593

Bruce Alan Wilson wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/183590>:

<< Anent wizardling genetics, I've always thought that there wasn't a
single gene, but a set of genes.

1. The gene or genes that allows one to sense magical energies;
2. The gene or genes that allows one to manipulate them;
3. The gene or genes that account for specialized magical abilities,
like metamophomagus, animagus, seer, etc. >>

I agree that the genetics of magic must involve quite a number of gene
pairs, because simple Mendelian inheritance wouldn't account for
wizarding folk having different amounts of innate magical power and
being better at some forms of magic than others, and the magical
alleles of these genes must be loose in the Muggle population or there
wouldn't be Muggleborns. I have tried, unsuccessfully but not very
hard, to figure out how mixing these genes around could provide
'hybrid vigor', so that Muggleborns would usually be on the high side
of the power range.

Also, part of the reason that half-and-half children (like Seamus)
usually turn out wizarding is because wizarding people are not
attracted to homozygous MM Muggles, only to heterozygous Mm Muggles,
giving their children a 50% change of being mm just from Mendelian
theory. That's harder to explain when specifying that the attractive
Muggle has to be heterozygous Aa, homozygous bb, and either CC or Cc
where 'a', 'b' and 'C' are the alleles for sensing and manipulating
magical energies. 

I can't see any reason to believe that sensing magical energies is
controlled separately from manipulating them, but it could be so. 

Metamorphmagus and Seer are talents people are born with, but Animagus
is a skill which is learned. As far as I know, any wizard or witch who
has enough raw power and works hard enough can become an Animagus,
altho' it's possible that one with a specific deficit in
Transfiguration ability just can't do it. But I think a specific
deficit would be lower than Neville, who did manage to get an OWL in
Transfiguration.

I also believe there is a great deal of non-genetic (therefore
'environmental') on the inheritance of magic. The presence of magic
selects for magical genes. A witch mother will bear only wizarding
children with her Mm mate, because her womb will select the m sperm --
where could there be more magic than inside the body of a magical
person? But the Mm mother who lives surrounded by magical people, such
as her mate, in a house held up by magic, will also be influenced to
produce m eggs. The m genes in the developing fetus will be revved up
by the nearby presence of magic, so genetically identical people could
be a Muggle and a weak wizard (Stan Shunpike springs to mind)
depending on the prenatal environment.

As you know, I could go on. And on. And on.