Question

How many different “alleles” of a gene can there be? How many versions of a single gene can an individual inherit? Explain why these numbers are different.

Answer 1

A gene can have more than 2 alleles. For example, the gene responsible for blood group has three alleles(I^A, I^B, and I^O). But A diploid organism can have only two alleles of a gene in a single locus. Therefore, an individual can inherit two alleles. For example, a person can have only one blood group out of the four blood groups(A, B, AB, and O). The followings are the different combinations of blood group out of which a person can have only one combination.

I^AI^A, I^A I^O= A

I^B I^B, I^BI^O = B

I^OI^O = O

I^A I^B = AB

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