What鈥檚 the Difference Between a Gene and an Allele?

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Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="Kara Rogers" data-title="What鈥檚 the Difference Between a Gene and an Allele?" data-published-date="1 May. 2017" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-gene-and-an-allele" > <div class="citation-text"></div> </div> <button class="js-copy-citation-button mt-20 btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="file_copy"></em> <span class="js-citation-status-text">Copy Citation</span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-share-modal-button js-modal gtm-topic-tool btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" data-modal=".md-share-modal"> <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="share"></em> Share </button> <div class="md-share-modal size-lg d-none qa-share-modal"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10" data-icon="share"></em> Share </div> <div class="label my-20">Share to social media</div> <div class="md-social-toolbar-circle d-flex align-items-start inverted" data-value="share" title="What鈥檚 the Difference Between a Gene and an Allele?" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-gene-and-an-allele" > <a class="social-icon facebook justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Facebook</span></a> <a class="social-icon x justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="x" href="https://x.com/britannica" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>X</span></a> </div> <div class="label pt-20 mt-20 mb-5 border-top">URL</div> <a class="font-serif text-truncate d-inline-block" href="https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-gene-and-an-allele">https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-gene-and-an-allele</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing font-12"> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/Kara-Rogers/6713" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Kara Rogers</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Kara Rogers is the senior editor of biomedical sciences at Encyclop忙dia Britannica, where she oversees a range of content from medicine and genetics to microorganisms. She joined Britannica in 2006 and...</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Kara Rogers</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> </div> <article class="topic-content content mt-20"><figure class="md-assembly md-feature-assembly print-false" data-type="1" data-descid="1"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/36/152336-050-4B00A338/DNA-strand-illustration-art.jpg" target="_blank" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center " data-href="*"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/36/152336-050-4B00A338/DNA-strand-illustration-art.jpg?w=600&q=60" alt="DNA strand illustration art, double helix, deoxyribonucleic acid, genetics" data-width="600" data-height="618" loading="eager"><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class=""><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><cite class="credit d-block mt-5">漏 dimas/stock.adobe.com</cite></figcaption></figure><p class="topic-paragraph">A <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/gene" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">gene</a> is a unit of hereditary information. Except in some viruses, genes are made up of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/DNA" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">DNA</a>, a complex molecule that codes genetic information for the transmission of inherited traits. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/allele" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alleles</a> are also genetic sequences, and they too code for the transmission of traits. So, what it is the difference between a gene and an allele?</p><span class="MOD1"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The short answer is that <strong>an allele is a variant form of a gene</strong>. Explained in greater detail, each gene resides at a specific locus (location on a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/chromosome" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">chromosome</a>) in two copies, one copy of the gene inherited from each parent. The copies, however, are not necessarily the same. <strong>When the copies of a gene differ from each other, they are known as alleles.</strong> A given gene may have multiple different alleles, though only two alleles are present at the gene鈥檚 locus in any individual.</p><span class="MOD2"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Alleles can sometimes result in different <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/phenotype" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">phenotypes</a> (observable traits), with certain alleles being dominant (overriding the traits of other alleles) or, in some cases, multiple alleles acting in a codominant fashion. An example of the latter is the human <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ABO-blood-group-system" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ABO blood group system</a>, in which persons with type AB blood have one allele for A and one for B (persons with neither allele are type O). An example of dominant allele expression is flower color in pea plants. A plant with purple flowers actually has a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/genotype" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">genotype</a> (genetic makeup) consisting of a gene with a dominant <em>P</em> and a recessive <em>p</em> allele.</p><span class="MOD3"></span><span class="AM-END-OF-ARTICLE am-inline"></span></article> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="cm-rightrail d-none d-md-block ad-rail"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col"> <div class="md-loading hidden display-4 font-weight-normal"></div> <div class="text-center my-20 mb-100"> <button class="md-infinite-load-next btn btn-blue" data-value="next-page">Load More</button> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-da-320 hidden-xs"> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Story","templateName":"DEMYSTIFIED","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":11,"pageId":6192,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/story-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Story","pageSubtype":"DEMYSTIFIED","articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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What鈥檚 the Difference Between a Gene and an Allele? | Britannica