What is the difference between a dominant and a recessive allele?

The definition of a dominant allele clarifies that it has the ability to mask or overshadow the expression of a recessive allele in heterozygous individuals, who have one of each type of allele. This means that when both alleles are present, the dominant one will determine the organism's observable traits, or phenotype. For example, if a plant has one allele for purple flowers (dominant) and one for white flowers (recessive), the plant will exhibit purple flowers because the purple allele takes precedence in expression.

This fundamental distinction between dominance and recessiveness is crucial for understanding inheritance patterns, such as those observed in Mendelian genetics. Dominant traits can manifest in the phenotype regardless of whether the individual is homozygous (two dominant alleles) or heterozygous (one dominant and one recessive allele).

In terms of the other options, while dominant alleles do often have strong visibility in heterozygous combinations, it is not entirely accurate to say they are always visible, as specific environmental factors or epigenetic changes can influence expression. Recessive alleles indeed can be inherited; they simply require another recessive allele to be expressed phenotypically. Additionally, the location of alleles on chromosomes is unrelated to