What is dominant and recessive

Looking at this, you might conclude that the dominant phenotype is twice as common as the recessive one. But you would probably be wrong. Recessive alleles can be present in a population at very high frequency. Consider eye color. Eye color is influenced mainly by two genes, with smaller contributions from several others. People with light eyes tend to carry recessive alleles of the major genes; people with dark eyes tend to carry dominant alleles. In Scandinavia, most people have light eyes—the recessive alleles of these genes are much more common here than the dominant ones.

Mode of inheritance has nothing to do with whether an allele benefits an individual or not. Take rock pocket mice, where fur color is controlled mainly by a single gene. The gene codes for a protein that makes dark pigment. Some rock pocket mice have dark fur, and some have light fur. The dark-fur allele is dominant, and the light-fur allele is recessive.

But not all diseases alleles are recessive. Keratin proteins link together to form strong fibers that strengthen hair, fingernails, skin, and other tissues throughout the body. There are several genetic disorders involving defects in keratin genes, and most of them have dominant inheritance patterns. To see how defective keratin genes can lead to a genetic disorder, see Pachyonychia Congenita. What are Dominant and Recessive? The terms are confusing and often misleading Dominant and recessive inheritance are useful concepts when it comes to predicting the probability of an individual inheriting certain phenotypes, especially genetic disorders.

In other words, the trait cannot manifest in any person with a more dominant, healthy allele. If one parent is a carrier of a disease, while the other has two healthy alleles, the disease will not be manifested in any of their offspring.

Share this comparison:. If you read this far, you should follow us:. Diffen LLC, n. Comparison chart Dominant versus Recessive comparison chart Dominant Recessive About When an allele is dominant, the characteristic it is connected to will be expressed in an individual.

When an allele is recessive, the characteristic it is connected to is less likely to be expressed. Recessive traits only manifest when both alleles are recessive in an individual. Follow Share Cite Authors. Share this comparison: If you read this far, you should follow us: "Dominant vs Recessive. Comments: Dominant vs Recessive. Related Comparisons. Contribute to Diffen Edit or create new comparisons in your area of expertise.

Log in ». Terms of use Privacy policy. Ideally, a genetically inherited dimple does not completely disappear. It may become less noticeable as the person ages or undergoes a drastic weight loss. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Philosophy What is the difference between dominant and recessive? Ben Davis August 21, What is the difference between dominant and recessive? Are back dimples a birth defect?

How rare is it to have dimples? How do you fake dimples? How much are fake dimples? Different versions of a gene are called alleles. Alleles are described as either dominant or recessive depending on their associated traits. Illustration to show the inheritance of dominant and recessive alleles for eye colour.

Image credit: Genome Research Limited. Genes are small sections of DNA within the genome that code for proteins. They contain the instructions for our individual characteristics — like eye and hair colour. Inheritance is the process by which genetic information is passed on from parent to child.

This is why members of the same family tend to have similar characteristics. Genetic variation is a term used to describe the variation in the DNA sequence in each of our genomes. Genetic variation is what makes us all unique, whether in terms of hair colour, skin colour or even the shape of our faces.