Which term describes the genetic makeup that an individual carries, distinct from its outward traits?

Which term describes the genetic makeup that an individual carries, distinct from its outward traits?

• A. Allele
• B. Genotype
• C. Chromosome
• D. Phenotype

Answer: (B)

Genotype describes the genetic makeup an individual carries—the specific alleles present at each gene location. In diploid organisms, you inherit two alleles for each gene, so your genotype is the combination of those alleles (for example, two copies of a dominant allele, two recessive ones, or one of each). This is different from the outward traits you can see, which is the phenotype—the result of how your genotype interacts with the environment. An allele is a single variant form of a gene, and a chromosome is the structure that carries many genes. So the term that best fits the genetic makeup is genotype.

Genotype describes the genetic makeup an individual carries—the specific alleles present at each gene location. In diploid organisms, you inherit two alleles for each gene, so your genotype is the combination of those alleles (for example, two copies of a dominant allele, two recessive ones, or one of each). This is different from the outward traits you can see, which is the phenotype—the result of how your genotype interacts with the environment. An allele is a single variant form of a gene, and a chromosome is the structure that carries many genes. So the term that best fits the genetic makeup is genotype.