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Allele for Dummies

noun

pronunciation: ə'lil

What does Allele really mean?

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Allele:

Hey there! Let's talk about the word "allele." It's a bit of a fancy word, but I promise we'll make it super easy to understand. So, have you ever seen a family? They come in all shapes and sizes, right? Well, within each family, you have different members, like siblings and cousins. And guess what? They all have things in common, like their eye color or hair type. These common characteristics we can call "traits."

Now, alleles are like the different versions or options for a specific trait. Let me explain that a bit more. Imagine we're talking about eye color. You might have one allele for brown eyes and another allele for blue eyes. So, the allele is like an instruction that tells your body which trait to follow. Each person has two alleles for each trait, one from each parent, making up their unique combination.

But hey, there's another cool aspect of alleles! They come in different forms. It's like having different versions of a video game. Some alleles can be dominant, which means they have a more powerful instruction that overrides others. Almost like the way a superhero triumphs over villains! On the other hand, there are recessive alleles, which are a little more shy and only show up when the dominant ones aren't around. They're like the sidekicks waiting for their moment to shine.

So, to sum it all up, alleles are like the instructions or options for traits that we inherit from our parents. They can come in different forms, with dominant ones taking the lead and recessive ones waiting for their chance. Just like family members with different eye colors or hair types, we all have unique combinations of alleles that make us who we are. Simple, right?

Revised and Fact checked by Olivia White on 2023-11-06 03:55:25

Allele In a sentece

Learn how to use Allele inside a sentece

  • In a dog, the gene for coat color can have two alleles: one for black and one for brown.
  • For eye color in humans, the allele for blue eyes is recessive, while the allele for brown eyes is dominant.
  • If both parents have the same alleles for a trait, like hair type, their child is more likely to have that trait.
  • The allele for sickle cell anemia can cause red blood cells to be misshapen, leading to health problems.
  • The allele for lactose intolerance can make it difficult for someone to digest milk products.

Allele Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

Allele Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.

Allele Hyponyms

Words that are more specific than the original word.

Allele Category

The domain category to which the original word belongs.