A homozygote inherits the same allele twice, while heterozygosity means they inherit different alleles. Alleles can be dominant or recessive, and genetic traits can be influenced by multiple genes. Homozygosity for a recessive gene can lead to genetic conditions being passed on to offspring.
A homozygote is an organism that has inherited the same allele twice, once from each parent. This term is used in reference to diploid organisms, organisms that have two complete sets of chromosomes. The opposite of homozygosity is heterozygosity, where the organism has inherited a different allele from each parent.
Technically, the term “gene” refers to a section of the genetic code that dictates the expression of a particular trait, while the term “allele” is used to discuss various forms of a gene. A locus is an area on the chromosome where a gene appears and someone who is a homozygote has the same allele at the same loci on both sets of chromosomes. One could, for example, talk about a gene that codes for eye color, and then discuss various alleles such as blue, brown and hazel. It is important to remember that genetic traits can be influenced by more than one gene, and sometimes interactions between multiple genes are involved, which can make the inheritance process quite complex.
The alleles are often described as dominant or recessive. In the case of a dominant allele, only one copy of the allele needs to be inherited for the trait to manifest. With recessive alleles, however, two copies of the allele must be present for the trait to be expressed in organisms. When someone is homozygous for a dominant trait, it means that they have inherited two copies of a dominant allele, and the homozygous will, consequently, pass on the dominant trait to any offspring, meaning that the trait should express itself in those offspring as well.
A homozygote who has two copies of a recessive trait will express the trait and pass one copy of the recessive gene on to offspring. If the other parent is homozygous for the same trait, the child will express the trait, but if the other parent is heterozygous, with one copy of the recessive trait and one copy of a dominant trait that will essentially override the recessive, the child only has a 50% chance of expressing the recessive trait.
Many genetic conditions are recessive, and people who have these conditions must be homozygous at the locus that determines whether or not the condition will express itself. Sometimes multiple loci are involved, which explains why many genetic traits have varying degrees of intensity, why people may have some of the alleles involved but not others. Someone who is a homozygous for a recessive genetic condition will pass the problematic gene on to a child, which can be a concern for people who don’t want their children to develop genetic conditions or become carriers of those conditions.
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