Heterozygous Genetics: Dominant and Recessive Alleles Explained

heterozygous

Recessive genes are typically masked when an individual is _____ for the gene.

Heterozygous is a term used in genetics to describe an individual who has two different versions (alleles) of a particular gene. For example, if an organism has one allele for blue eyes and one allele for brown eyes, they are said to be heterozygous for the eye color gene.

In a heterozygous individual, the dominant allele will usually determine the observable trait. The recessive allele will only affect the trait if it is present in a homozygous state, meaning both alleles are the same.

Heterozygous individuals can pass on either the dominant or the recessive allele to their offspring. When two heterozygous individuals mate, there is a 25% chance of their offspring being homozygous dominant (having two copies of the dominant allele), a 50% chance of being heterozygous, and a 25% chance of being homozygous recessive (having two copies of the recessive allele).

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