The genetic makeup of an individual, including all alleles, is known as what?

The genetic makeup of an individual, encompassing all their alleles, is referred to as the genotype. The genotype includes the specific alleles that an individual inherits from their parents, which can be homozygous (two identical alleles) or heterozygous (two different alleles) for specific traits. This genetic composition plays a crucial role in determining how traits are expressed in the organism, although the expression of these traits can be influenced by environmental factors.

In contrast, phenotype refers to the observable physical traits and characteristics of an organism, which result from the interaction between the genotype and the environment. Gametes are the reproductive cells (sperm and eggs) that carry half the genetic information, and DNA is the molecule that contains the genetic instructions in all living organisms, but it does not specifically denote the complete genetic makeup of an individual. Thus, while all these terms are related to genetics, the term that specifically describes the complete genetic makeup, including all alleles, is genotype.