True-breeding black mice and true-breeding white mice are mated and all the offspring are grey. Which pattern does that suggest?
ASimple dominance
BMultiple alleles
CIncomplete dominance
DRecessive lethality
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Incomplete dominance
1. Each true-breeding parent is homozygous, so every offspring is heterozygous.
2. Under simple dominance the heterozygotes would look exactly like one parent, either black or white.
3. Instead they are grey, a colour intermediate between the two parental colours.
4. An intermediate heterozygote phenotype is the signature of incomplete dominance.
5. Codominance would show both colours at once rather than a single blended shade.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 12 "Mendel's Experiments and Heredity", review questions_
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