Two recessive alleles describe which genotype?

Two recessive alleles describe which genotype?

• A. Homozygous
• B. Heterozygous
• C. Homozygous Recessive
• D. Autosomal

Answer: (C)

Genotype refers to the two alleles an organism has for a trait. When both alleles are recessive, the organism is homozygous recessive, usually written as aa. This exact combination means there is no dominant allele to mask the recessive trait, so the recessive phenotype appears in traits governed by simple Mendelian inheritance. If the two alleles were both dominant, it would be homozygous dominant (AA); if one allele is recessive and the other dominant, that’s heterozygous (Aa). The term autosomal describes where a gene is located, not the pair of alleles, so it doesn’t describe the genotype.

Genotype refers to the two alleles an organism has for a trait. When both alleles are recessive, the organism is homozygous recessive, usually written as aa. This exact combination means there is no dominant allele to mask the recessive trait, so the recessive phenotype appears in traits governed by simple Mendelian inheritance. If the two alleles were both dominant, it would be homozygous dominant (AA); if one allele is recessive and the other dominant, that’s heterozygous (Aa). The term autosomal describes where a gene is located, not the pair of alleles, so it doesn’t describe the genotype.