Thalassemia is an inherited anemic disorder in humans. Affected individuals exhibit either a minor anemia or a major anemia. Assuming that only a single gene pair and two alleles are involved in the inheritance of these conditions, is thalassemia a dominant or recessive disorder?

Key Concepts

Inheritance Patterns

Inheritance patterns describe how traits and disorders are passed from parents to offspring. In genetics, traits can be dominant or recessive, influencing whether a single copy of an allele (dominant) or two copies (recessive) are needed for the trait to be expressed. Understanding these patterns is crucial for determining the genetic basis of disorders like thalassemia.

Alleles

Alleles are different forms of a gene that can exist at a specific locus on a chromosome. In the case of thalassemia, the disorder is influenced by two alleles, which can be either normal or mutated. The interaction between these alleles determines the severity of the anemia, making it essential to understand their roles in genetic inheritance.

Genotype and Phenotype

Genotype refers to the genetic constitution of an individual, while phenotype is the observable expression of that genotype. In thalassemia, the genotype (combination of alleles) determines whether an individual will exhibit minor or major anemia. Recognizing the relationship between genotype and phenotype is key to understanding the clinical manifestations of genetic disorders.