Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms

Homozygous

Homozygous is a genetic condition where an individual inherits the same alleles for a particular gene from both parents.

Narration Transcription

Homozygous describes the genetic condition or the genetic state where an individual has inherited the same DNA sequence for a particular gene from both their biological mother and their biological father. It's often used in the context of disease. We talk about a situation where an individual has inherited a mutant allele or an error in DNA sequence from their mother and they have inherited the identical mutant allele from their father. We would then say that individual is homozygous for that mutation. They have two identical copies of the deleterious version of that gene and, as a result, they are then going to be predisposed to the genetic condition the gene codes for.

Doctor Profile

Name: Amalia S. Dutra, Ph.D.

Occupation:

Biography: Dr. Dutra is the Director of Cytogenetics and Microscopy Core in the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Her expertise is in molecular cytogenetic and her field of interests is in chromosome defects in several species: human, mouse, deer, dog, rat and zebrafish. These studies have led to numerous collaborations with scientists in all branches of NHGRI. She is also working on mapping chromosome break points of interest by applying high-resolution techniques to defined potential genomic alterations in a number of diseases whose molecular defects have not yet been characterized. As a Director of the Cytogenetic and Microscopy Core, she also devotes part of her time to overseeing the day-to-day operation of the state-of-the-art confocal, long-term live cell, spinning disk and epi-fluorescent facility.