when the two alleles present in an organism are of the same type, the genotype is described as

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Genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an organism, specifically the combination of alleles that an individual has inherited from its parents. Alleles are the different versions of a gene that code for a particular trait. When an organism has two alleles that are the same, the genotype is described as homozygous. This means that the individual has inherited identical alleles from its parents for a particular trait. For example, in pea plants, there are two possible alleles for flower color: purple (P) and white (p). If a pea plant inherits two purple alleles (PP) from its parents, it is homozygous for flower color. Similarly, if it inherits two white alleles (pp), it is also homozygous for flower color. In contrast, if an organism has two different alleles for a particular trait, the genotype is described as heterozygous. This means that the individual has inherited two different alleles for a particular gene from its parents. For example, if a pea plant inherits one purple allele (P) and one white allele (p) from its parents, it is heterozygous for flower color (Pp). Therefore, when the two alleles present in an organism are of the same type, the genotype is described as homozygous.