when an organism has two alleles at a particular locus that are different, the organism is called
A diploid organism can either have two copies of the same allele or one copy each of two different alleles. Individuals who have two copies of the same allele are said to be homozygous at that locus. Individuals who receive different alleles from each parent are said to be heterozygous at that locus. The alleles an individual has at a locus is called a genotype. The genotype of an organism is often expressed using letters. The visible expression of the genotype is called an organismâs phenotype.