Alleleede

Alleleede is a term that refers to a specific variant of a gene. Genes are segments of DNA that contain the instructions for building and operating an organism. Alleles are different versions of the same gene that can arise through mutation. For example, a gene that determines eye color might have multiple alleles, each coding for a different eye color like brown, blue, or green.

In sexually reproducing organisms, individuals inherit two alleles for each gene, one from each parent. The combination of alleles an individual possesses for a particular gene determines their genotype. The observable physical characteristic resulting from the genotype is called the phenotype. If an individual has two identical alleles for a gene, they are said to be homozygous for that gene. If they have two different alleles, they are heterozygous.

The concept of alleles is fundamental to understanding Mendelian genetics, which describes how traits are passed from parents to offspring. Dominant alleles are those whose traits are expressed even when only one copy is present, while recessive alleles only manifest their traits when two copies are inherited. The study of allele frequencies within populations is a key aspect of population genetics and evolutionary biology. Changes in allele frequencies over time can indicate evolutionary processes such as natural selection, genetic drift, or mutation.