A Gene or a Trait is Said to Be Polymorphic

Question

A gene or a trait is said to be polymorphic if:
A)the allele frequency is about 50:50 for each of its alleles present in the population.
B)the allele frequency of one allele is higher than that of all others.
C)more that one form (morph or allele)exists in the population.
D)one of its alleles occurs at a frequency lower than 1%.
E)only one form exists in the population.

Accepted Answer

Polymorphic refers to the presence of more than one form or allele of a gene in a population. If there is only one form, then the gene or trait is said to be monomorphic. Therefore, option C is the correct answer. Option A refers to a situation where the two alleles are present in equal frequencies, which is not always the case for polymorphic genes. Option B is incorrect because it refers to a situation where one allele is dominant over all others, which is not related to polymorphism. Option D refers to a rare allele frequency and is also not related to polymorphism. Option E refers to a monomorphic state where only one form exists, which is the opposite of polymorphism.