Genetics 101 (Part 4 of 5): What are Phenotypes?

A phenotype is what you see or experience from someone’s genes, like a colorful fruit from a seed.

Imagine you have a box of seeds, these are like genotypes (what's inside the seed). When you plant them, they grow into plants. Some might be tall and green, others short and yellow, this is their phenotype. It’s what you actually see when the plant grows up!

Think of genes like ingredients in a cookie recipe. If your mom uses chocolate chips, the cookies might come out extra tasty and dark. If your dad uses vanilla, they might be lighter and sweeter. The final cookie, what it looks like and how it tastes, is the phenotype.

Just like you can tell which cookie was made by whom just by looking at it, scientists can often guess what genes are behind a certain trait by watching the phenotype.

Sometimes, even with the same recipe (same genes), two cookies might turn out slightly different, maybe one got more heat in the oven! This means phenotypes can also be affected by other things besides just genes.