Allele - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: Allele

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

al·lele

Audio Help [uh-leel] Pronunciation Key

–noun Genetics.

any of several forms of a gene, usually arising through mutation, that are responsible for hereditary variation.

[Origin: 1930–35; < G Allel, appar. as shortening of G equivalents of allelomorph or allelomorphic gene; allelo- < Gk allélo-, comb. form of alllōn of/to one another, reciprocally

]

—Related forms

al·lel·ic

Audio Help [uh-lee-lik, uh-lel-ik] Pronunciation Key, adjective

al·lel·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Allele

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

al·lele Audio Help (ə-lēl') Pronunciation Key
n. One member of a pair or series of genes that occupy a specific position on a specific chromosome.

[German Allel, short for Allelomorph, allelomorph, from English allelomorph.]

al·le'lic (ə-lē'lĭk, ə-lěl'ĭk) adj., al·le'lism n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

allele
noun
(genetics) either of a pair (or series) of alternative forms of a gene that can occupy the same locus on a particular chromosome and that control the same character; "some alleles are dominant over others"

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

allele Audio Help (ə-lēl') Pronunciation Key
Any of the possible forms in which a gene for a specific trait can occur. In almost all animal cells, two alleles for each gene are inherited, one from each parent. Paired alleles (one on each of two paired chromosomes) that are the same are called homozygous, and those that are different are called heterozygous. In heterozygous pairings, one allele is usually dominant, and the other recessive. Complex traits such as height and longevity are usually caused by the interactions of numerous pairs of alleles, while simple traits such as eye color may be caused by just one pair.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
allele [(ul-leel)]

The sequence of nucleotides on a DNA molecule that constitutes the form of a gene at a specific spot or a chromosome. There can be several variations of this sequence, and each of these is called an allele. In the case of the gene for eye color, for example, one allele codes for blue eyes, whereas the other may code for brown eyes.

[Chapter:] Life Sciences

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