Alleles are different versions of a gene. They work together to decide how an organism looks, which is called its phenotype or physical traits.
In the study of genetics, we often talk about two types of alleles: dominant and recessive.
Dominant Alleles: These are strong and can hide the effects of recessive alleles. For instance, if we say 'T' stands for tall plants and 't' stands for short plants, then a plant with 'TT' or 'Tt' will be tall.
Recessive Alleles: These are weaker and can only show their traits when they are with another recessive allele. So, a plant needs to have 'tt' to be short.
To help understand this better, we can use a Punnett square. If we cross a 'Tt' plant (tall) with a 'tt' plant (short), the Punnett square tells us there is a 50% chance that the offspring will be tall (Tt) and a 50% chance they will be short (tt).
Alleles are different versions of a gene. They work together to decide how an organism looks, which is called its phenotype or physical traits.
In the study of genetics, we often talk about two types of alleles: dominant and recessive.
Dominant Alleles: These are strong and can hide the effects of recessive alleles. For instance, if we say 'T' stands for tall plants and 't' stands for short plants, then a plant with 'TT' or 'Tt' will be tall.
Recessive Alleles: These are weaker and can only show their traits when they are with another recessive allele. So, a plant needs to have 'tt' to be short.
To help understand this better, we can use a Punnett square. If we cross a 'Tt' plant (tall) with a 'tt' plant (short), the Punnett square tells us there is a 50% chance that the offspring will be tall (Tt) and a 50% chance they will be short (tt).