Idea or model
Allele
One of two or more versions of a DNA sequence at the same place in the genome. You inherit one from each parent.
Dominant and recessive
A dominant allele shows its effect with one copy; a recessive allele shows its effect only with two copies.Source: NHGRISource: NHGRI
Idea or model
How Dominant and recessive connects
Dominant and recessive describes
Dominant and recessive is involved in
Idea or model
Mendelian inheritance
Mendel's pea crosses showed that traits are inherited as separate units, giving predictable ratios such as 3 to 1.
Studied in
Your progress
Sources & further reading
The explanations on this page are our own summaries of these sources. Follow a link to read the original; if anything here disagrees with it, the original wins. How we choose and check sources.
Dominant Traits and Alleles (opens the original in a new tab)
National Human Genome Research Institute. Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms. National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH.
ReferenceGovernment sourceEducationalRecessive Traits and Alleles (opens the original in a new tab)
National Human Genome Research Institute. Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms. National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH.
ReferenceGovernment sourceEducational