In monohybrid inheritance, if an organism carries two different alleles for a particular gene, it is called:
Answer Details
In monohybrid inheritance, if an organism carries two different alleles for a particular gene, it is called **heterozygous**.
Let's break it down to understand why this is the correct answer.
Genes are the units of heredity that determine traits in living organisms. Each gene exists in different forms called alleles. In monohybrid inheritance, we focus on the inheritance of a single gene from one generation to the next.
When an organism has two copies of the same allele for a gene, it is called **homozygous** for that gene. Homozygous individuals can have two copies of the dominant allele (DD) or two copies of the recessive allele (dd).
On the other hand, if an organism carries two different alleles for a gene, it is called **heterozygous**. Heterozygous individuals have one copy of the dominant allele and one copy of the recessive allele (Dd). In this case, the dominant allele often determines the visible trait, while the recessive allele is hidden or masked.
To summarize, in monohybrid inheritance, if an organism carries two different alleles for a particular gene, it is called **heterozygous**.