What characterizes a recessive gene?

A recessive gene is characterized by its tendency to be masked by the presence of a dominant gene. This means that when an individual has both a dominant and a recessive allele for a particular trait, the dominant allele will express its associated trait, effectively hiding the effect of the recessive allele. For a recessive trait to be expressed in an organism, it must be present in a homozygous condition, meaning the individual has two copies of that recessive allele.

When discussing the roles of genes, dominant genes overshadow the influence of recessive genes, which is why a recessive gene may go unexpressed when paired with a dominant one. This contributes to the complexities of inheritance patterns and genetic diversity within populations. The idea that a recessive gene can be "hidden" aligns directly with basic principles of Mendelian genetics, where the dominance relationships between alleles play a crucial role in determining phenotypic expression.