What is the genotype of an organism?

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The genotype of an organism refers to its specific genetic makeup or the combination of alleles it possesses for particular genes. It represents the hereditary information encoded in the organism's DNA, which can determine various traits and characteristics. The genotype can be expressed as a pair of alleles, such as homozygous (identical alleles) or heterozygous (different alleles) for a particular gene. For example, if a gene has two alleles, A and a, an organism with the genotype AA is homozygous dominant, Aa is heterozygous, and aa is homozygous recessive. The genotype is distinct from the phenotype, which is the observable expression of the genotype influenced by environmental factors.