A person who has one recessive allele for a trait, but does not have the trait is a?

• A. Carrier
• B. Homozygote
• C. Heterozygote
• D. Mutant

Answer: (A)

Having one recessive allele for a trait but not showing the trait means you are a carrier. A carrier has two different alleles for that trait, one dominant and one recessive, so the dominant allele masks the recessive one in your phenotype. Yet you can pass the recessive allele to your offspring, and if the other parent also provides a recessive allele, the child may express the trait.

Homozygous means two identical alleles (two dominants or two recessives), while heterozygous means two different alleles (one dominant, one recessive). A carrier is typically heterozygous for the recessive trait.