Which term describes the natural allele form as it occurs in nature, without mutation?

Which term describes the natural allele form as it occurs in nature, without mutation?

• A. Heterozygous
• B. Homozygous
• C. Chimera
• D. Wild type

Answer: (D)

Wild type refers to the allele form that is commonly found in nature and not altered by mutation. It acts as the baseline or reference when comparing variants, representing the usual genotype or phenotype seen in the natural population. Heterozygous and homozygous describe zygosity at a gene locus (two different alleles or two identical alleles), but not whether those alleles are the natural, non-mutated form. Chimera describes an organism with two or more genetically distinct cell lines from different zygotes, which is a different situation altogether. So the term that best fits the description is wild type.

Wild type refers to the allele form that is commonly found in nature and not altered by mutation. It acts as the baseline or reference when comparing variants, representing the usual genotype or phenotype seen in the natural population. Heterozygous and homozygous describe zygosity at a gene locus (two different alleles or two identical alleles), but not whether those alleles are the natural, non-mutated form. Chimera describes an organism with two or more genetically distinct cell lines from different zygotes, which is a different situation altogether. So the term that best fits the description is wild type.