allellic

Allelic refers to a characteristic or feature related to alleles. Alleles are alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome. For example, the gene for eye color has alleles that determine whether a person has brown, blue, or green eyes. When describing an organism, an allelic trait would be one that is influenced by these different forms of genes.

In genetics, the term allelic is often used when discussing the genetic makeup of an individual or population. For instance, if an individual has two different alleles for a particular gene, they are said to be heterozygous for that gene. If they have two identical alleles, they are homozygous. The specific combination of alleles an organism possesses is known as its genotype, which in turn influences its observable traits, or phenotype.

The study of allelic frequencies within a population is fundamental to population genetics. Changes in allelic frequencies over time can indicate evolutionary processes such as genetic drift, gene flow, or natural selection. Researchers analyze allelic data to understand genetic diversity, trace evolutionary histories, and identify genes associated with specific traits or diseases. Therefore, allelic is a core concept for understanding the mechanisms of heredity and evolution.