Distinguish between genotype and phenotype.

Genotype and phenotype are fundamental concepts in genetics that describe different aspects of an organism's traits and characteristics.

Genotype

• Definition: The genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an organism; it is the set of genes that an organism carries.
• Components: It includes all the alleles (variations of a gene) present in the organism's DNA.
• Example: If a plant has two alleles for flower color, one for red (R) and one for white (r), its genotype could be represented as Rr.

Phenotype

• Definition: The phenotype is the observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, as determined by both genetic makeup and environmental influences.
• Components: It includes traits such as height, eye color, and blood type, which can be seen or measured.
• Example: In the same plant, if the red allele (R) is dominant over the white allele (r), the phenotype would be red flowers.

Key Differences

• Nature: Genotype is the genetic code, while phenotype is the expression of that code.
• Influence: Genotype is influenced solely by inheritance, whereas phenotype is influenced by both genotype and environmental factors.
• Observation: Genotype is not visible to the naked eye, whereas phenotype is observable.

Understanding the distinction between genotype and phenotype is crucial in fields such as genetics, biology, and medicine, as it helps in studying how traits are inherited and expressed.