Homozygous
An organism that has two identical alleles for a trait
Homozygous refers to an organism that carries two identical copies of a particular gene. These identical copies may be the dominant allele or the recessive allele of the gene. For example, if an individual has two dominant alleles for the gene that determines hair color, they will have the same hair color as the dominant allele is expressed.
On the other hand, if both alleles are recessive, the individual will express the recessive trait. Homozygous recessive traits are often associated with genetic disorders where the absence or malfunction of a specific gene causes health problems. An example is sickle cell anemia, which is caused by the homozygous recessive inheritance of a mutated hemoglobin gene.
Homozygous individuals can only pass on one version of a gene to their offspring, as all their gametes will carry the same allele. Hence, if an individual with homozygous dominant alleles reproduces with an individual with homozygous recessive alleles, all the offspring will carry one dominant allele and one recessive allele, they will be heterozygous.
More Answers:
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