Eterozigoti

Eterozigoti refers to individuals or cells that possess two different alleles for a specific gene. Alleles are alternative forms of a gene that can arise through mutation. In diploid organisms, like humans, each individual inherits two alleles for most genes, one from each parent. If these two alleles are identical, the individual is homozygous for that gene. However, if the two alleles are different, the individual is heterozygous, or an eterozigote.

The concept of heterozygosity is fundamental to understanding inheritance patterns and genetic variation. For a trait that is determined by a single gene with two alleles, one dominant and one recessive, an eterozigote will express the phenotype associated with the dominant allele. However, the eterozigote still carries the recessive allele, which can be passed on to their offspring. This means that eterozigoti play a crucial role in maintaining genetic diversity within a population and can contribute to the inheritance of recessive traits in subsequent generations if they reproduce with another carrier of the same recessive allele.

The heterozygous state can have various implications. In some cases, heterozygosity can confer an advantage, a phenomenon known as heterozygote advantage. A classic example is sickle cell trait, where individuals heterozygous for the sickle cell allele are more resistant to malaria. In other instances, heterozygosity may have no discernible effect on the phenotype, or it could be associated with intermediate traits. The study of eterozigoti is essential for fields such as genetics, medicine, and evolutionary biology.