Which term describes the genetic makeup of an individual?

• A. Genotype
• B. Phenotype
• C. Domestication
• D. Taxonomy

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is the difference between what genes a living thing carries and what those genes look like in the real world. The term that describes the genetic makeup of an individual is genotype. It includes the specific alleles—the versions of genes—that are inherited from the parents. This genetic blueprint sets the potential for traits, such as production traits, disease resistance, or physical characteristics, though it’s not what you directly see.

What you actually observe is the phenotype, which is the visible or measured expression of those genes, influenced by the environment, nutrition, and management. In livestock breeding, understanding genotype helps predict what traits can be passed to offspring, while phenotype tells you what the animal is currently exhibiting.

The other terms refer to different ideas: domestication is the long-term process of adapting a species to human use, not an individual’s genes; taxonomy is the classification system for organizing living things.