What is the difference between dominant and recessive alleles?
Question
What is the difference between dominant and recessive alleles?
Solution
Dominant and recessive alleles refer to different versions of the same gene that determine specific traits in organisms. Here's the difference between the two:
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Dominant Alleles: A dominant allele is a version of a gene that will always express itself if present. This means that even if only one copy of the dominant allele is present (from one parent), the trait it codes for will be visible in the organism. For example, if the gene for eye color has a dominant allele for brown eyes, then the individual will have brown eyes even if they also have a recessive allele for blue eyes.
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Recessive Alleles: A recessive allele is a version of a gene that will only express itself if two copies are present (one from each parent). This means that the trait it codes for will only be visible in the organism if there is no dominant allele present. Using the previous example, an individual will only have blue eyes if they have two recessive alleles for blue eyes.
In summary, the main difference between dominant and recessive alleles is that dominant alleles show their effect even if there is only one copy of it in the organism, while recessive alleles need two copies to express their trait.
Similar Questions
Define autosomal dominant and recessive allele?
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When a dominant allele is expressed over a recessive allele.Group of answer choicescomplete dominancecodominanceincomplete dominanceNext
A heterozygous parent is equally likely to contribute the dominant or the recessive allele to an offspring.Group of answer choicesFalseTrueNext
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