heterozygous

American  

[het-er-uh-zahy-guhs] / ˌhɛt ər əˈzaɪ gəs /

Also heterozygotic

adjective

Genetics.

1. relating to or being a heterozygote, an organism that possesses a pair of differing alleles, one dominant and one recessive, of a particular gene.

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heterozygous British  

/ ˌhɛtərəʊˈzaɪɡəs /

adjective

1. genetics (of an organism) having different alleles for any one gene Compare homozygous

   heterozygous for eye colour

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heterozygous Scientific  

/ hĕt′ər-ə-zī′gəs /

1. Relating to a cell that has two different alleles at corresponding positions on homologous chromosomes.

2. Compare homozygous

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Other Word Forms

• heterozygosity noun

Etymology

Origin of heterozygous

First recorded in 1900–05; hetero- + Greek zygós, adjective derivative of zygón “yolk”; -ous

Example Sentences

He hopes that physicians add this gene to the list of lupus-associated genes, "so if they see a mutation like these, even a heterozygous mutation, they will investigate further."

From Science Daily • May 23, 2024

Figure 12.19 This figure shows all possible combinations of offspring resulting from a dihybrid cross of pea plants that are heterozygous for the tall/dwarf and inflated/constricted alleles.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

First cross is performed by transferring the pollen of a heterozygous tall plant to the stigma of a heterozygous dwarf plant.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

As a result, the recessive small b allele is lost in the third generation, and all of the rabbits are heterozygous dominant with brown coat color.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

But Cu�not and others have shown that all of the yellows are heterozygous, and when crossed with agoutis give both yellows and agoutis.

From Mendelism Third Edition by Punnett, Reginald Crundall