Term | Definition |
dominant | Mendel’s name for an inherited trait that appeared in the
heterozygous individual. |
recessive | Mendel’s name for an inherited trait that is hidden or
masked by the dominant trait in the heterozygous individual. |
genotype | An organism’s genetic make up composed of a pair of
alleles. |
phenotype | Observed characteristic or expressed trait that results
from an allele pair. |
allele | Version of a gene for a single gene trait. |
inheritance | Passing of genetic information (traits) from parent to
offspring. |
purebred | Only possessing one version of a gene for a particular
trait (homozygous). |
hybrid | Containing two contrasting alleles for a genetic trait
(heterozygous). |
dihybrid cross | A genetic cross looking at two traits where each parent
is hybrid for each trait. |
homozygous | Purebred, containing only one version of a gene. |
heterozygous | Hybrid, containing one dominant and one recessive
allele for a trait. |
pedigree | Diagram of a family history used to study inheritance
patterns of a trait through several generations that can
be used to predict disorders in future offspring. |
codominant | Complex inheritance pattern that occurs when neither
allele is dominant and both alleles are expressed. |
incomplete dominance | Complex inheritance pattern in which the heterozygous
phenotype is intermediate between those of the
homozygous parent organisms.(a blending of
phenotypes) |
multiple alleles | Having more than two alleles for a particular trait. |
polygenic | Characteristic such as eye color or skin color , that
results from the interaction of multiple gene pairs. |
autosomal | A disease resulting from a mutation on an autosome
chromosome; not sex-linked. |
sex-linked | A disease that disproportionately affects one sex
usually resulting from a mutation on the X chromosome. |