Alleles and Variants Flashcards

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What is an allele?

An allele is a different version of the same gene.

A human usually has two alleles for each gene, one from their mother and one from their father.

A genetic variant is a different form of a characteristic caused by differences in alleles or DNA.

Genotype is the combination of alleles an organism has for a gene or genes.

Phenotype is the visible characteristic or feature that results from the genotype and the environment.

A dominant allele is one that affects the phenotype even if only one copy is present.

A recessive allele only affects the phenotype when two copies are present.

Homozygous means having two of the same alleles for a gene.

Heterozygous means having two different alleles for a gene.

Different alleles give different genotypes, which can produce different phenotypes, so individuals show variation.