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Dictionary » D » Dominant

Dominant

dominant

1. (of, or pertaining to) an allele or a gene that is expressed in an organism’s phenotype, masking the effect of the recessive allele or gene when present

That is when the phenotypic effect of a dominant allele predominates or is expressed even in the presence of the recessive allele. A dominant allele is usually symbolized with a capital letter and the recessive allele a small letter, for example: Hh (where H refers to the dominant allele while h to the recessive allele).

2. (of, or pertaining to) an organism or group of organisms having the most considerable influence or control in its ecological community among other organism

For instance: among animals, the dominant is the one that predominate a social hierarchy, and usually is the top predator with the greatest access to food resources, territory and mate.


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