Question

Dominant character masks the ……………………. character.

Answer 1

Hint: In genetics, a trait can be defined as a characteristic that is passed on from the parent to the offspring, for example, hair colour, blood type, height, texture of hair, etc. Traits can be dominant or recessive.

Complete answer:
In species that reproduce sexually, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes, that is a total of 46 chromosomes. The chromosomes contain numerous genes that in turn are responsible for the formation of proteins that control our biochemical and physical features.
Each gene has two copies within each chromosome. The location of a single gene in the chromosome is called a locus. The chromosomes have the same gene in the same position in such a way that they are paired.
At each locus, however, there can be two alternate versions of the same gene. One of these copies are received from the mother and the other from the father. Each of these alternate versions are termed as alleles. Therefore, at a single locus two alleles of the same gene are present.
If both the alleles of the gene are identical, the individual is termed as homozygous. If two alternate versions an allele is present, an individual is termed as heterozygous.
Certain alleles are dominant over their alternate forms. These dominant alleles are always expressed in the form of dominant characters. The alternate form of dominant allele is known as recessive allele. The recessive alleles are not expressed in the offspring – they are always masked. This happens because the protein formed by the dominant allele is stronger than the protein formed by the recessive allele.
For example, an individual has brown eyes. One of his parents has brown eyes and the other one, maybe green eyes. The offspring has brown eyes because the allele responsible for brown eye colour is dominant over the allele responsible for green eye colour.

Therefore, the answer for the blank will be: Dominant character masks the recessive character.

Note:
Traits are heritable characters. A trait is generally determined by genes, but also by the interaction between our genes and the surrounding environment. Dominant traits mask recessive traits. In biology, a trait is also referred to as the ‘phenotype’ of an individual. The genetic make-up of an individual is known as the genotype. Phenotypes are often determined by genotypes.