Question

Why do we have two alleles?

Answer 1

Alleles:

1. Alleles are variants of the same gene that are present on a single chromosome.
2. The majority of organisms including humans are diploid in nature as they possess two alleles for a gene and each allele is inherited from a parent.
3. The alleles can either be dominant, recessive, or codominant in nature.
4. The genotype is said to be homozygous if a gene contains two identical alleles while they are said to be heterozygous if the alleles differ.
5. In a heterozygous genotype, the dominant gene is expressed while the recessive gene is suppressed.