Final answer:
The "bb" genotype represents a homozygous recessive pair of alleles for fur color in a bunny. Dominance hierarchy dictates the expression of traits like fur color, with homozygous recessive often showing non-wild-type colors, if the trait abides by simple Mendelian inheritance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The genotype "bb" represents a pair of recessive alleles for the trait of fur color in a bunny. When an organism has two identical alleles for a particular gene, such as "bb", this is called a homozygous recessive genotype. In the context of rabbit coat color genetics, this may result in a non-wild-type fur color such as white, depending on the specific alleles involved and their associated dominance hierarchy. This contrasts with a heterozygous genotype, like "Bb", which includes one dominant and one recessive allele, often leading to the expression of the dominant trait.
Dominance in genetics refers to the relationship between alleles, where the dominant allele masks the expression of a recessive one. For example, in Labrador retrievers' fur color controlled by the alleles E and B, the allele "E" shows epistasis, overriding the expression of fur color alleles at another locus. In rabbits, multiple alleles exist for the fur color gene, and the dominance hierarchy dictates the phenotype of the offspring.