Question

Imagine that horn color in Hodags (folkloric creatures of Wisconsin) is controlled by a single gene. You mate a Hodag homozygous for a bright orange horns (COCO) with a Hodag homozygous for ivory horns (CICI). Numerous offspring are produced, all with pale orange horns. This pattern of inheritance of horn color can best be described as

A. codominance.
B. recombination.
C. incomplete dominance
D. complete dominance.
E. environmental effects on phenotype.

Answer 1

The inheritance of horn color in Hodags showing a pale orange color in offspring of two homozygous parents for different horn colors is an example of incomplete dominance.

Step-by-step explanation:

The pattern of inheritance of horn color in Hodags in this hypothetical scenario can best be described as incomplete dominance. This is because when a Hodag homozygous for bright orange horns (COCO) is mated with one homozygous for ivory horns (CICI), the offspring have pale orange horns, which is an intermediate phenotype between the two parents.

For instance, in the snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), a cross between plants with homozygous red flowers (CRCR) and homozygous white flowers (CWCW) results in offspring with pink flowers (CRCW), exemplifying incomplete dominance. The same principle applies to the Hodag horn color, where neither allele is completely dominant, resulting in a blending of traits in the heterozygous offspring.