Dominant Allele (Noun)
Meaning
An allele that produces the same phenotype whether its paired allele is identical or different.
Classification
Nouns denoting body parts.
Examples
- Brown eye color is a dominant allele that will always be expressed if an individual has one or two copies of the allele.
- The dominant allele for the tall trait in pea plants results in plants that grow to their full height and overpower the shorter plants.
- Huntington's disease is caused by a dominant allele that is expressed even if an individual only inherits one copy of it from an affected parent.
- In some species of flowers, the red color is a dominant allele that will be expressed if an individual has either one or two copies of the allele.
- Cystic fibrosis can be caused by multiple different dominant alleles that each produce slightly different symptoms but all result in the malfunction of certain digestive enzymes.