Re: Recessive dominat gene transfer

Dear Jan,

thank you for writing.  The concept of dominance and recessivity is 
difficult to understand, so I think your best bet would be to consult an 
introductory genetics textbook or an educational website (I have 
included a link for a nicely organized site at the end of this message).  
Briefly, though, humans possess two copies of each of their genes, 
one which was inherited from Mom, and one inherited from Dad.  
These copies are usually not identical, even though they encode the 
same general information.  Alternative forms of a gene are called 
alleles, and it is the nature of these alleles which determine the 
phenotype, or observable properties, of the individual.  If one allele is 
dominant over another, the dominant allele will mask the phenotype 
of the recessive allele, thus only the effects of the dominant allele will 
be observed.  If a recessive allele is present in the individual, though, 
it will be passed on to the next generation in the same frequency as a 
dominant allele.  If an individual inherits recessive alleles of a gene 
from both parents,  then the individual will exhibit the recessive 
phenotype.  I know this must be rather confusing if you haven't heard 
these terms before, so please check out the website I've listed 
below, which has numerous diagrams and animations to explain 
these concepts.   If you still have questions about inheritance after 
doing some research on your own, please don't hesitate to write 
again.   I'll be happy to help with anything I can.  
Good luck!!!
Jen
 http://
www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/1/concept