Understanding Homozygous: When Identical Alleles Dictate Genetic Traits

Homozygous

An organism that has two identical alleles for a trait

Homozygous refers to a genetic condition when an individual has a pair of identical alleles for a particular gene locus. Alleles are different versions of a gene that determine a specific trait, such as hair color or eye color. Each parent passes one allele to their offspring, resulting in two alleles that determine the trait.

When an individual is homozygous, both their alleles for a particular gene locus are the same. For example, if an individual has a pair of A alleles for the gene locus that determines blood type, the person is homozygous for blood type A. Similarly, if an individual has two recessive alleles for a trait, such as blue eyes, they are homozygous recessive for that trait.

Homozygous alleles can be either dominant or recessive, but homozygous recessive individuals will always express the recessive trait because they lack any dominant allele to counteract it. In contrast, homozygous dominant individuals will always express the dominant trait because both alleles are dominant and there is no recessive allele to be expressed.

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