Allelic exclusion
Expression of only one of the two homologous alleles at a locus in the case of heterozygosity. This usually occurs at loci such as immunoglobulin or T cell receptor genes where a functional rearrangement among genes takes place. One of the alleles is either non-functionally or incompletely rearranged and not expressed. | ||||
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Allelic exclusion Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
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Allelic exclusion
Humans and many other organisms are diploid, i.e. they have two copies of each chromosome (one inherited from each parent) in all their somatic cells. Both chromosomes within the pair contain essentially the same genes, but these genes may contain a small number of nucleotide differences. The two copies of a gene on a pair of chromosomes are called alleles. Usually both alleles show similar levels of gene expression.
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