[quote=@AdobeFlash]
<Snipped quote by Witch Cat>

what if, say, the gene was rare and recessive. and if you had the gene buried in your DNA and was bit, would the gene activate? Because if not I would have to rewrite my backstory. Darn.
[/quote]

Well, depends. In some cases, the trait is just recessive. The bite won't affect the target at all, and will just turn them into a minion. However, if the trait is co-dominant(The carrier will get some vampire benefits, but this mostly is just living for a few extra years), the bite will "shock" the trait into overriding the other, which makes the trait dominant and turns the target into a vampire. Due to this sudden change in your gene, many changes are noticed. Pale skin, high metabolism, etc.