what does heterozygous mean in a punnett square
Punnett square Zygosity refers to the grade of similarity between the alleles that determine one specific trait in an organism. In its simplest form, a pair of alleles can be either homozygous or heterozygous. Homozygosity, with homo relating to same while zygous pertains to a zygote, is seen when a combination of either two dominant or two recessive alleles code for the same trait. For example, using 'A' as the representative character for each allele, a homozygous dominant pair's genotype would be depicted as 'AA', while homozygous recessive is shown as 'aa'. Heterozygosity, with hetero associated with different, can only be 'Aa' because 'aA' is not biologically correct. The phenotype of a homozygous dominant pair is 'A', or dominant, while the opposite is true for homozygous recessive. Heterozygous pairs always have a dominant phenotype.[2] To a lesser degree, hemizygosity[3] and nullizygosity[4] can also be seen in gene pairs.
Monohybrid cross Generally, the monohybrid cross is used to determine the dominance relationship between two alleles. The cross begins with the parental (P) generation. One parent is homozygous for one allele, and the other parent is homozygous for the other allele. The offspring make up the first filial (F1) generation. Every member of the F1 generation is heterozygous and the phenotype of the F1 generation expresses the dominant trait.[3] Crossing two members of the F1 generation produces the second filial (F2) generation. Probability theory predicts that three quarters of the F2 generation will have the dominant allele's phenotype. And the remaining quarter of the F2s will have the recessive allele's phenotype. This predicted 3:1 phenotypic ratio assumes Mendelian inheritance.