Question

Write a short note on multiple alleles.

Write a note on term ‘multiple alleles’.

Answer 1

The term “multiple alleles” refers to the presence of more than two allelic forms of a gene in a population. Although an individual organism can only have two alleles for a gene (one on each homologous chromosome), the gene itself can exist in multiple different variants or alleles within the population. These multiple alleles occupy the same locus and are mutant forms of the same gene. Among these alleles, one is typically dominant and one recessive relative to the others. A classic example of multiple alleles is the ABO blood group system in humans, where three alleles (I^A, I^B, and i) determine the blood type, producing four possible phenotypes (A, B, AB, and O) based on their combinations.