I really disagree that the gene is not whatâs âdominantâ or ârecessiveâ and I donât like that we teach genetics that way. The gene is precisely what is dominant and recessive! I see that Hank is trying to make a distinction between the âgeneâ as a piece of DNA and âalleleâ as a particular version of that piece of DNA. But the gene is everything, and a trait, or phenotype, is simply the result of the DNA and RNA and protein that comes from it.