Explain genotype and phenotype with examples.

Genotype and phenotype are key concepts in genetics that describe an organism’s genetic makeup and its observable characteristics.

Genotype refers to the genetic constitution of an organism, that is, the combination of alleles it possesses for a particular trait. For example, TT, Tt, or tt represent different genotypes for plant height.

Phenotype refers to the observable physical characteristics or traits of an organism, which result from the interaction of its genotype and the environment. For example, tall or dwarf are phenotypes for plant height.

An organism with genotype TT or Tt will have a tall phenotype because the dominant allele expresses itself, while only tt results in a dwarf phenotype.

Thus, genotype determines the genetic potential, while phenotype is the visible expression of that genetic information.