Concept of Dominance
The concept of dominance describes the relationship between alleles of one gene. It determines how traits are expressed in an organism’s phenotype based on the combination of alleles it inherits. In a pair of alleles for a specific trait, one allele may show its influence over the other, resulting in a dominant phenotype, while the other allele remains hidden or recessive. This means that the dominant allele is expressed in the phenotype, and its traits are observed, while the recessive allele is not phenotypically expressed in the presence of the dominant allele. A heterozygous gene consists of a pair of dissimilar alleles, whereas a homozygous gene carries two identical alleles. In heterozygous alleles, each allele contains distinct information regarding traits. When we describe one allele as dominant over the other, it can be due to two possible reasons:
- The recessive allele may be non-functional, meaning it does not contribute to the expression of the trait.
- The recessive allele may be less active compared to the dominant allele, resulting in the dominance of the trait associated with the dominant allele.
These mechanisms explain how dominance is established within alleles and the impact it has on the expression of traits in organisms.
Incomplete Dominance & Mendel’s Experiment
Incomplete Dominance is a form of intermediate inheritance where neither of the two alleles for a particular trait is completely dominant over the other. In this type of dominance, the heterozygous phenotype is a blend or intermediate between the two homozygous phenotypes. The concept of incomplete dominance emerged as a significant discovery following Gregor Mendel’s initial work in genetics. Incomplete dominance plays an important role in contributing to the diversity and variation of an organism’s traits or characteristics.
Table of Content
- What is Incomplete Dominance?
- Mechanism of Incomplete Dominance
- Concept of Dominance
- Incomplete Dominance and Codominance
- Examples of Incomplete Dominance
- FAQs on Incomplete Dominance
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