Heterooügootsus

Heterooügootsus refers to a state in genetics where an individual possesses two different alleles for a particular gene. In simpler terms, for a specific trait, the organism carries one version of the gene from one parent and a different version from the other parent. This contrasts with homozygousity, where an individual has two identical alleles for the same gene. The concept is fundamental to understanding inheritance patterns. When an organism is heterozygous for a trait, the expression of that trait depends on the dominance relationship between the two alleles. A dominant allele will typically mask the effect of a recessive allele, meaning the observable characteristic will be that of the dominant allele. However, if the alleles show incomplete dominance or codominance, both alleles can contribute to the phenotype. The presence of different alleles allows for greater genetic variation within a population, which is crucial for adaptation and evolution. Geneticists use letters, often uppercase for dominant and lowercase for recessive, to represent alleles and denote heterooügootsus. For instance, if 'A' represents a dominant allele and 'a' represents a recessive allele, an individual with the genotype 'Aa' is heterozygous for that gene.