Question

How do alleles affect traits?

Answer 1

Alleles:

1. Alleles occur in pairs and influence the phenotype of organisms.
2. A trait is said to be homozygous if the paired alleles are the same whereas they are considered heterozygous if the alleles are different.

Effect of alleles on traits:

1. Alleles are of two types - dominant and recessive type. The dominant allele overrides the expression of recessive alleles.
2. The dominant character of the allele is exhibited even if only one allele is present.
3. If both alleles of genes are dominant, it leads to codominance where both the allele characters are expressed.
4. Recessive characteristics are exhibited only if both the alleles are homozygous.