Question

True or false? A heterozygous organism is best described as a hybrid.
I know a lot of heterozygous organisms are hybrids, but I don't know if the best way to describe them.
Thanks! x

Answer 1

A hybrid is an organism that has parents of two different species. If you cross a horse with a donkey, you get a mule. A mule is not a species of its own - because it cannot reproduce. To be a proper species (like a horse, or a donkey), an organism must be able to produce offspring.

A heterozygous organism is merely an organism with two different copies of a specific gene. Such as a dominant gene for brown eyes from Mom and a recessive gene for blue eyes from Dad. You can certainly have one brown eye gene, one blue eyed gene and be able to reproduce.

Hopefully that clears things up.

Answer 2

So given the information you have given me, it would be false? That was my first guess.

Answer 3

Agreed, false.

Answer 4

Thanks so much!

Answer 5

Not a prob. ;)