What does it mean for an individual to be heterozygous?

Heterozygous refers to the genetic condition where an individual has two different alleles for a specific gene. Each gene can have multiple forms, known as alleles, and when an organism inherits an allele from each parent that are not the same, it is described as heterozygous. This genetic variation can influence traits and characteristics exhibited by that organism.

In contrast, having two identical alleles for a gene would describe a homozygous condition, where both inherited alleles are the same. While dominance and recessiveness are concepts related to alleles, being heterozygous does not imply that one allele is dominant and the other recessive; it simply indicates a difference in the alleles themselves. Similarly, stating that both alleles are recessive would indicate a homozygous recessive condition, which does not apply to heterozygosity. Therefore, being heterozygous specifically highlights the presence of two different alleles.