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Dominant Allele for Dummies

noun


What does Dominant Allele really mean?

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Hey there! So, a dominant allele is a term we use to talk about traits, or characteristics, that we inherit from our parents. Genes come in pairs, and each pair can have different versions of the same gene, which we call alleles.

Okay, so let's break it down. Imagine your genes are like a recipe book, with each recipe representing a different trait, such as eye color, hair texture, or height. Now, in this recipe book, there are different versions of the same recipe - for example, there might be a recipe for curly hair and a recipe for straight hair. These different versions of the same recipe are what we call alleles.

Now, a dominant allele is like a recipe that's really strong and takes over. When a dominant allele is present, it's the one that determines the trait that you see. It's like if you were making a cake and you accidentally added too much vanilla - you would still be able to taste the vanilla because it's so strong, even if there are other flavors in there too.

So, if you inherit a dominant allele for brown eyes from one parent, and a recessive allele for blue eyes from the other parent, the dominant allele for brown eyes will be the one that shows up in your eye color!

On the other hand, a recessive allele is like a recipe that's a bit shy and gets overshadowed by the dominant one. It's still there, but you can't really see it unless both alleles in the pair are recessive.

So, in a nutshell, a dominant allele is like the bossy recipe that takes charge and determines the trait, while a recessive allele is like the quieter recipe that only shows up if there are no dominant ones around. Make sense?

Revised and Fact checked by Michael Miller on 2023-11-15 06:55:56

Dominant Allele In a sentece

Learn how to use Dominant Allele inside a sentece

  • In a flower, the dominant allele for flower color is purple, so a plant with one dominant allele and one recessive allele will have purple flowers.
  • In a family, the dominant allele for attached earlobes means that most family members have attached earlobes, but a few may have the recessive allele and have free-hanging earlobes.
  • In a population of rabbits, the dominant allele for fur color is brown, so most of the rabbits have brown fur, but a few may have the recessive allele and have white fur.
  • In a class, the dominant allele for being able to roll your tongue means that most students can roll their tongue, but a few may have the recessive allele and be unable to.
  • In a group of cats, the dominant allele for short hair means that most of the cats have short hair, but a few may have the recessive allele and have long hair.

Dominant Allele Synonyms

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

Dominant Allele Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.