Biology: gene vs allele, part 1
Tutoring biology, terms are important. The tutor mentions the ideas of gene and allele.
The following explanation is a simplification, but focuses on the concepts.
Typically, we might imagine a gene as a segment of DNA that codes for a specific protein. However, there may be more than one version of that gene: each different version is an allele.
Let’s imagine there is a single gene for coffee taste preference, the gene CT. Some people prefer acidic coffee: the version of the CT gene they carry is CT1. Others prefer bitter coffee: they are found to carry CT2. Still others don’t like coffee at all: they are found to carry CT3.
In this case, the gene is CT, while its alleles are CT1, CT2, and CT3. If these are the only three alleles for coffee taste preference, then each person’s genetic code must carry C1, C2, or C3.
For most genes, a person gets one allele from their mother and one from their father. Therefore, possibilities a person could carry are C1 with C2, C1 with C1, C1 with C3, etc.
There are further ideas, such as dominance, which I hope to cover in a future post.
Source:
Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.