Fun Facts: Dominant versus Recessive Genes
Fun fact I learned is that dimples are a dominant gene. If one parent has a dimple, they say its guaranteed that the child will have a dimple. So, just think…some time in the future…almost all of us will have dimples and then smooth cheeks will be considered cute and worthy of a cheek pinch!
Well, it inspired me to find out what else is dominant and I don’t understand what mother nature has in mind for the future of appendages.
| DOMINANT TRAITS | RECESSIVE TRAITS
|
|
| eye coloring | brown eyes | grey, green, hazel, blue eyes |
| vision | farsightedness normal vision normal vision normal vision |
normal vision nearsightedness night blindness color blindness* |
| hair | dark hair non-red hair curly hair full head of hair widow’s peak |
blonde, light, red hair red hair straight hair baldness* normal hairline |
| facial features | dimples unattached earlobes freckles broad lips |
no dimples attached earlobes no freckles thin lips |
| appendages | extra digits fused digits short digits fingers lack 1 joint limb dwarfing clubbed thumb double-jointedness |
normal number normal digits normal digits normal joints normal proportion normal thumb normal joints |
| other | immunity to poison ivy normal pigmented skin normal blood clotting normal hearing normal hearing and speaking normal- no PKU |
susceptibility to poison ivy albinism hemophilia* congenital deafness deaf mutism phenylketonuria (PKU) |
Though “dimples” (Gene D) are dominant but the gene for dimples D is rare. Dominant does not mean common. Dominant just means that it’ll win out over recessive.
How common a trait is has nothing to do with this. It depends on how many copies of that gene version are in a population.
So having dimples is rare because the dimple version of the gene is rare. And as long as there is no advantage or disadvantage to having dimples, then the relative amounts of people with dimples won’t change over time in a stable population.
Check out this website to find out more abotu dimples. 🙂 http://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask188
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The statement that “if one parent has a dimple…its guaranteed that the child will have a dimple” is not true. That is like saying if one parent has brown eyes all their children are guaranteed to have brown eyes! Even a parent with brown eyes can carry a blue eye gene.
My mother has very dramatic cheek dimples, and not one of her three children got them. She complains about it all the time, and is still hoping that dimples will show up in one of her grandchildren…no luck for her so far! :0)