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Allele. An allele[1], or allelomorph, is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or locus, on a DNA molecule. [2] Alleles can differ at a single position through single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), [3] but they can also have insertions and deletions of up to several thousand base pairs. [4]
63. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large locus on vertebrate DNA containing a set of closely linked polymorphic genes that code for cell surface proteins essential for the adaptive immune system. These cell surface proteins are called MHC molecules. The name of this locus comes from its discovery through the study of ...
Histocompatibility. Histocompatibility, or tissue compatibility, is the property of having the same, or sufficiently similar, alleles of a set of genes called human leukocyte antigens (HLA), or major histocompatibility complex (MHC). [1] Each individual expresses many unique HLA proteins on the surface of their cells, which signal to the immune ...
When multiple different alleles for a gene are present in a species's population it is called polymorphic. Most different alleles are functionally equivalent, however some alleles can give rise to different phenotypic traits. A gene's most common allele is called the wild type, and rare alleles are called mutants.
Mendel consciously chose pairs of genetic traits, represented by two alleles for his inheritance experiments. In nature, such genes often exist in several different forms and are therefore said to have multiple alleles. An individual usually has only two copies of each gene, but many different alleles are often found within a population.
Locus (genetics) In genetics, a locus (pl.: loci) is a specific, fixed position on a chromosome where a particular gene or genetic marker is located. [1] Each chromosome carries many genes, with each gene occupying a different position or locus; in humans, the total number of protein-coding genes in a complete haploid set of 23 chromosomes is ...
Definition. A phenotypic trait is an obvious, observable, and measurable characteristic of an organism; it is the expression of genes in an observable way. An example of a phenotypic trait is a specific hair color or eye color. Underlying genes, that make up the genotype, determine the hair color, but the hair color observed is the phenotype.
Zygosity (the noun, zygote, is from the Greek zygotos "yoked," from zygon "yoke") (/ zaɪˈɡɒsɪti /) is the degree to which both copies of a chromosome or gene have the same genetic sequence. In other words, it is the degree of similarity of the alleles in an organism. Most eukaryotes have two matching sets of chromosomes; that is, they are ...