Final answer:
In a dominant-recessive relationship, the dominant allele is expressed in the phenotype, while the recessive allele remains latent. The recessive trait is only expressed when an organism has two copies of the recessive allele.
Step-by-step explanation:
The expression of an organism's genotype produces its phenotype. In a dominant-recessive relationship, the dominant allele will be expressed in the phenotype, while the recessive allele remains latent and does not influence the phenotype. Only when an organism has two copies of the recessive allele will the recessive trait be expressed in the phenotype.
For example, let's consider a trait with two alleles: A (dominant) and a (recessive). If an organism has the genotype AA or Aa, the dominant A allele will be expressed, and the organism will have the dominant trait in its phenotype. However, if an organism has the genotype aa, which means it has two copies of the recessive a allele, the recessive trait will be expressed in its phenotype.