Final answer:
In some animals, alleles from one parent can indeed have preferential expression over those from the other parent due to a phenomenon known as genomic imprinting. This outcome is separate from Mendelian inheritance where dominant alleles mask recessive ones. The correct option 1 is 'Yes'.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to the concept of genetic inheritance and the expression of alleles in organisms. In some animals, the alleles of one parent may indeed experience preferential expression over another. This phenomenon is known as genomic imprinting and is different from the typical Mendelian inheritance where dominant and recessive alleles influence phenotype. In genomic imprinting, an allele's expression is affected by the parent from whom the allele was inherited, leading to a situation where some genes are only expressed if inherited from a specific parent.
In Mendelian inheritance, alleles are inherited from each parent, and their expression in the phenotype of the organism depends on whether they are dominant or recessive. Organisms with at least one dominant allele will display the dominant trait, whereas organisms must inherit two recessive alleles to display the recessive trait. Furthermore, multiple alleles may exist for a gene at the population level, allowing for a variety of genetic combinations and expressions.
According to Mendelian principles, if a purebred black rabbit (homozygous dominant) mates with a white rabbit (assumed to be homozygous recessive), the offspring would all display the phenotype of the black rabbit due to the dominance of the black allele. If two hybrid Ff rabbits mate, where F represents the dominant allele for a black coat and f represents the recessive allele for a white coat, the offspring would follow a typical Mendelian 3:1 phenotypic ratio with three black offspring for every white offspring.
The correct option in response to the question 'In some animals, do the alleles of one parent experience preferential expression over another?' is Yes.