What is an allele?

An allele is a different form or variant of a gene that exists at a specific position on a chromosome.

Each gene can have two or more alleles, which may result in variations in a particular trait. For example, a gene for eye color may have different alleles for brown, blue, or green eyes.

In most organisms, individuals inherit two alleles for each gene—one from each parent. These alleles can be identical or different, influencing how a trait is expressed.

Alleles play a key role in genetic variation and determine the diversity of characteristics observed among individuals.