Haplotype (from Greek haplos "simple" and typos "image, pattern"), is a short name for "haploid genotype". A haplotype is a variant of a nucleotide sequence on one and the same chromosome in the genome of a living being. The individual alleles originate once from the maternal and once from the paternal cell. This results in a mixed genetic haplotype. The dominant gene sets impose their characteristics, which defines the phenotype of an individual. A particular haplotype can be specific to an individual. A specific haplotype can also be population or species specific. Haplotypes play an important role in HLA typing.