(Of an allele) having the characteristic that leads to the trait which it controls being suppressed by the presence of the corresponding dominant allele.
In genetic inheritance, a gene that produces its effect only when its paired gene is identical or when it is unpaired on an X sex chromosome. A recessive gene will not be expressed in the presence of a dominant gene. If a mother contributes to her child a recessive gene for blue eyes, for example, the child will have blue eyes only if the father also contributes a gene for blue eyes. If both parents carry a recessive gene for a genetic disorder, any child of theirs has a 25- percent chance of inheriting the disorder, and a 50-percent chance of being a healthy carrier, someone who carries a defective gene but is unaffected by it and may not even know about it. A recessive defective gene whose effects are blocked by a dominant gene is said to be masked. Prospective parents whose family history includes genetic disorders are well advised to consider genetic counseling when planning a pregnancy and genetic screening during a pregnancy. Among the most common recessive disorders are cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, sickle-cell anemia, galactosemia, Friedreich’s ataxia, Hurler’s syndrome, and most lipid storage diseases, such as Gaucher’s disease and Tay-Sachs disease.
Describing a gene (or its corresponding characteristic) whose effect is shown in the individual only when its allele is the same.
Tending to recede. In genetic terms, a recessive gene is one whose expression remains dormant if paired with an unlike gene. Thus, a person who inherits a recessive gene from one parent only is unlikely to show any signs of disease or illness and the trait will only cause problems in an individual who has inherited it from both parents termed homozygous.
Tending to recede or go back; lacking control; not dominant; said, for example, of genes.
In genetics, a recessive gene is one way a trait can be passed from parents to their children. Traits often result from a pair of genes, with one gene coming from each parent. A recessive gene is overpowered by a corresponding dominant gene. For instance, the gene for blue eyes is recessive. If a child inherits a gene for brown eyes from one parent and a blue-eye gene from the other, the dominant brown-eye gene will override the recessive blue-eye gene, resulting in the child having brown eyes. To have blue eyes, a child must inherit the recessive gene for blue eyes from both parents.
Numerous genetic conditions are linked to recessive genes, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia. A child will only manifest the disorder if they inherit the recessive gene responsible for the condition from both parents.