Summary of inheritance terms
Genetics
| Term | Definition |
| Alleles | Different forms of a gene that produce different phenotypes |
| Dominant | An allele that always produces a certain phenotype in an organism. It is represented by a capital letter. |
| Gene | A sequence of DNA on a chromosome that contains coded instructions for making a specific protein |
| Genotype | An individual's alleles for a particular characteristic |
| Heterozygous | Describes an individual who has inherited two different alleles of the same gene from their parents |
| Homozygous | Describes an individual who has inherited the same allele for a gene from their parents |
| Phenotype | The outward appearance resulting from an individual's genotype for a particular characteristic |
| Recessive | An allele whose effect on the phenotype can be masked by a dominant allele of the same gene. It is represented by a lower case letter. |
| Term | Alleles |
|---|---|
| Definition | Different forms of a gene that produce different phenotypes |
| Term | Dominant |
|---|---|
| Definition | An allele that always produces a certain phenotype in an organism. It is represented by a capital letter. |
| Term | Gene |
|---|---|
| Definition | A sequence of DNA on a chromosome that contains coded instructions for making a specific protein |
| Term | Genotype |
|---|---|
| Definition | An individual's alleles for a particular characteristic |
| Term | Heterozygous |
|---|---|
| Definition | Describes an individual who has inherited two different alleles of the same gene from their parents |
| Term | Homozygous |
|---|---|
| Definition | Describes an individual who has inherited the same allele for a gene from their parents |
| Term | Phenotype |
|---|---|
| Definition | The outward appearance resulting from an individual's genotype for a particular characteristic |
| Term | Recessive |
|---|---|
| Definition | An allele whose effect on the phenotype can be masked by a dominant allele of the same gene. It is represented by a lower case letter. |