genes vs alleles

Question 1

ALL individuals in a species have ALL the same genes but …

Answer 1

they can have different versions of those genes, or alleles

- If a mutation occurs in a gene, that creates a new allele

Question 2

Different alleles SOMETIMES affect how the gene & its protein work differently

Answer 2

One gene could have hundreds (!) of alleles

Question 3

For example, you can imagine a gene is
involved in flower color. Every single flower in this species would have the gene. But, every flower might have different variants of this gene (or alleles)

!All these alleles were caused due to mutations in this gene!

Answer 3

•There can be one allele of this gene
that leads to purple flowers
• And another that leads to white
flowers …
• And other that leads to light purple
flowers …