recessive trait

Cultural  

1. In genetics, a trait that must be contributed by both parents in order to appear in the offspring. Recessive traits can be carried in a person's genes without appearing in that person. For example, a dark-haired person may have one gene for dark hair, which is a dominant trait, and one gene for light hair, which is recessive. It is thus possible for two dark-haired parents to have a light-haired child, provided each parent contributes a gene for light hair.

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Example Sentences

"We knew albinism was an inherited recessive trait, but we didn't know which gene was responsible," Stroupe said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2023

It’s a recessive trait that runs in his father’s side of the family.

From Washington Post • Jan. 11, 2023

The recessive trait does, however, reappear in the progeny of the hybrid offspring.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

In an X-linked cross, the genotypes of F1 and F2 offspring depend on whether the recessive trait was expressed by the male or the female in the P1 generation.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Since tallness was dominant, all the parental plants in this experiment were tall to start; the recessive trait had disappeared.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee