Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Of or relating to alleles: Describes something that pertains to or involves alleles, which are alternative forms of a gene found at the same location on a chromosome.

Usage

• The term "allelic" is used in genetics to describe the relationship or properties concerning alleles. It is an academic term most commonly found in scientific writing and discourse.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The researchers studied the allelic variation in the population. (This means they studied the differences in the gene forms present in that group.)
  • An allelic series refers to multiple mutant alleles of the same gene. (This describes a set of different versions of a specific gene.)

Advanced Usage

• "Allelic frequency": The proportion of a specific allele among all allele copies for a particular gene in a population.
  • The study aimed to calculate the allelic frequency of the trait in the region.
• "Allelic exclusion": A process in which only one allele of a gene is expressed in a cell, while the other is silenced.
  • B cells use allelic exclusion to ensure each cell produces only one type of antibody.

Variants and Related Words

• Allele (noun): One of two or more alternative forms of a gene.
  • The gene for flower color has a purple allele and a white allele.
• Allelism (noun): The state or condition of being alleles.
  • The concept of allelism is fundamental to Mendelian genetics.

Synonyms

• None in common usage: "Allelic" is a precise scientific term. In general contexts, one might use a descriptive phrase like "pertaining to gene variants," but this is not a direct synonym.

Related Phrases

• "Allelic combination": The specific pair of alleles an organism possesses for a gene.
  • The phenotype depends on the allelic combination (e.g., homozygous or heterozygous).
• "Allelic imbalance": A situation where the two alleles of a gene are not expressed at equal levels.
  • Scientists detected allelic imbalance in the tumor tissue samples.

Adjective

1. of or relating to alleles