Question

Fur thickness in dogs is inherited due to a single gene with two possible alleles. When two copies of the dominant gene is present, the fur is very thick. When two copies of the recessive gene is present, the fur is very thin. Heterozygous individuals have a median fur thickness phenotype. What inheritance pattern best describes the above scenario?

A. Mendelian
B. Homologous chromosomes
C. Meiosis

Answer 1

Incomplete dominance

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Mendelian inheritance, when a gene is heterozygous, one of the alleles must be dominant while the other must be recessive. This is not the case with fur inheritance because heterozygous individuals showed a trait that is halfway between dominant and recessive (median fur thickness).

The allele for thick fur is not completely expressed over the allele for thin fur, a clear-cut case of incomplete dominance.