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Recessive Allele

Key Stage 4

Meaning

A Recessive allele is an allele which can only be expressed in the phenotype when there are two copies of that allele.

About Dominant Alleles

When a genotype includes one dominant allele and one recessive allele the physical appearance of the person will be based on the dominant allele.
When there are two copies of the recessive allele the physical appearance of the person will be based on the recessive allele.
In a Punnett Square or Genetic Cross Diagram dominant alleles are written with a capital letter while the recessive alleles are written with a lower case letter.


References

AQA

Recessive alleles, page 217, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Biology, CGP, AQA
Recessive alleles, page 265, GCSE Biology, CGP, AQA
Recessive alleles, pages 36, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 2, Hodder, AQA
Recessive alleles/phenotypes, pages 209-213, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA

Edexcel

Recessive alleles, page 101, GCSE Biology, CGP, Edexcel
Recessive alleles, page 28, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
Recessive alleles, page 38, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
Recessive alleles, page 64, GCSE Biology, Pearson, Edexcel

OCR

Recessive alleles, page 51, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
Recessive alleles, pages 156-157, Gateway GCSE Biology, Oxford, OCR
Recessive alleles, pages 70, 71, Gateway GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR