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Snake 1: Snake 2: Snake 3: Snake 4: What cornsnakes have in common is that the order of their genes is the same. Each place in the order is called a locus. In our example, we have the Triangle locus, followed by the Square locus, then the Star locus, the Circle, Heart, etc. Why are all corns similar but not exactly the same? Notice that the loci stay the same but the genes vary from snake to snake. Each locus holds a gene. Each gene has its own function in the cornsnake. For example, say the Circle locus is where you find the gene that produces black pigment. As you know, not all cornsnakes have black pigment. The reason is that some of them have a defective copy of the gene normally found at the Circle locus. Any different genes that can be found at the same locus are called alleles. (Allele is pronounced "uh-leel.") The allele most commonly found at a locus is called normal or wild-type. [Home] [Digital Editions] [CMG Genetics Tutorial] [Serpwidgets Genetics] [Links] [Contact] Cornsnake Morph Guide is a registered trademark of Charles Pritzel All content on this site is copyright © 2004-2012, Charles Pritzel |