14. An organism with 2 dominant or 2 recessive alleles for a gene is said to be * Mark only one oval. heterozygous. homozygous. pure bred. codominant.

In genetics, when an organism carries two identical alleles for a particular gene, it is referred to as homozygous. This means that both alleles could be dominant (homozygous dominant) or both could be recessive (homozygous recessive). This concept is fundamental to understanding inheritance patterns and predicting traits in offspring. Homozygous organisms can produce gametes that are uniform (all carrying the same allele), which is essential in breeding programs aimed at producing specific traits. For example, purebred animals are often homozygous for desirable traits, ensuring consistent characteristics in their offspring.