# Glossary

alleles
  Variants of a gene that may be followed genetically, usually through their phenotypic effect, but also using a molecular assay, such as PCR.

antagonistic pleiotropy
  Refers to a situation in which a single gene creates multiple opposing effects, such that beneficial effects of a trait created by the gene are offset by 'losses' in other traits.

phenotypes
  The observable traits or characteristics of an organism, such as its biochemical, morphological, physiological or behavioural characteristics.

pleiotropic
  Describes a cellular process, signal or gene that has more than one effect, or more than one phenotypic outcome. At the genetic level, describes a situation where a single mutation affects two or more apparently unrelated phenotypic traits.

OpenLearn - Mosquito resistance to insecticides
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.