recessiivisillä

recessiivisillä is the Finnish word for "recessive." In genetics, a recessive allele is a variant of a gene that is only expressed phenotypically when an individual inherits two copies of it, one from each parent. This means that if an individual has one dominant allele and one recessive allele, the dominant allele's trait will be observed. The recessive allele's trait will only manifest if the individual is homozygous for the recessive allele, meaning they have two copies of that specific recessive allele.

The concept of recessive alleles is fundamental to understanding Mendelian inheritance. Gregor Mendel's experiments with pea plants, for instance, demonstrated how traits are passed down from parents to offspring. He observed that certain traits, like flower color or seed shape, were dominant over others, which were recessive. For a recessive trait to appear in an organism, both of its alleles for that gene must be the recessive type.

Carrier status is a term used when an individual has one dominant and one recessive allele for a particular gene. While they do not exhibit the recessive trait themselves, they carry the recessive allele and can pass it on to their offspring. If two carriers have a child, there is a 25% chance that the child will inherit two copies of the recessive allele and thus express the recessive trait. This is why genetic counseling is important for families with a history of recessive genetic disorders.