Wild-type gene

A gene or allele* that encodes a phenotype* considered “normal*” in the general population. Wild-type is a relative term and only has meaning in comparison with a rare trait. Wild-type alleles can be dominant, recessive or intermediate in their effect.

An example is eye color in fruit flies. The normal eye color for fruit flies is dark red. Alleles for eye color that encode for red eyes are considered wild-type alleles. Mutations that result in flies with white eyes are caused by non-wild type alleles. 

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