Incomplete Dominance, Codominance, Polygenic Traits, and Epistasis!

Non-Mendelian Traits

Traits that do not follow Mendel's laws of inheritance and may include incomplete dominance, codominance, polygenic traits, and interplay with environmental factors.

Incomplete Dominance

A form of inheritance where the dominant allele is not completely expressed when the recessive allele is present, resulting in a blended phenotype.

Codominance

A genetic scenario where both alleles contribute equally and separately to the phenotype, resulting in a distinct expression of both traits.

Phenotype

The observable physical characteristics or traits of an organism, determined by the genotype and environmental factors.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an organism, represented by the alleles inherited from its parents.

Nomenclature

The system of naming, particularly in genetics often involves letters or symbols representing alleles.

Epistasis

A genetic interaction where one gene affects the expression of another gene, inhibiting or enhancing its expression.

Polygenic Traits

Traits that are controlled by two or more genes, significantly contributing to a range of phenotypes.

Alleles

Different forms of a gene that can exist at a specific locus on a chromosome, influencing variations in traits.

Punnett Square

A diagram used in genetics to predict the genotypes of offspring from a particular cross or breeding experiment.

Llama Wool Color

An example used to explain how epistasis works, where the presence of a recessive gene influences the expression of the wool color gene.

B allele

In genetics, represents a dominant allele associated with a particular trait, such as black wool in llamas.

bb Genotype

Represents a pair of recessive alleles that can result in a specific phenotype, such as brown wool in llamas.

Environmental Factors

External influences, such as nutrition or sunlight, that can affect the expression of genetic traits without altering the underlying genotype.

AABbCcDD

An example of a complex genotype demonstrating polygenic inheritance, where multiple genes influence a trait such as height.

Albino Llama

A llama with a genotype that includes the epistatic recessive gene (cc), which prevents color pigmentation from being expressed.