Final answer:
Based on the conflict hypothesis for imprinting regarding nutrient allocation in the placenta, the prediction is that the father's gene copy would be active, while the mother's copy would be inactive to increase nutrient supply to the fetus.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the conflict hypothesis for imprinting, there is a battle of the sexes at the genetic level, particularly concerning resource allocation to the offspring. This theory is based on the different evolutionary pressures on maternal and paternal genes. The paternal genes would favor the growth of the offspring, even at the mother's expense, to ensure the survival and transmission of the father's genetic information. Consequently, the father's allele in genes that promote the transfer of resources to the fetus would be 'turned on', or expressed, to accelerate fetal growth and nutrient intake.
Conversely, maternal alleles tend to limit the amount of resources going to each fetus to preserve the mother's overall reproductive fitness, meaning the mother's allele for such a gene would likely be 'turned off' or imprinted so that it does not express this nutrient-diverting effect. The newly discovered gene in the placenta that is responsible for diverting more nutrients to the fetus fits this pattern and is therefore expected to be paternally expressed and maternally imprinted.