Extensions of Mendelian inheritance - Gene interactions

8 important questions on Extensions of Mendelian inheritance - Gene interactions

What is gene interaction?

Gene interaction is the phenomenon in which two or more different genes influence the outcome of a single trait.

What do the terms epistasis and complementation mean?

Epistasis is when the alleles of one gene mask the phenotypic effects of the alleles of another gene.
Complementation refers to the production of offspring with a wild-type phenotype from parents that both display the same or similar recessive phenotype. This usually indicates that the alleles for the recessive trait are in two different genes

What is recessive epistasis?

Recessive epistasis is a form of epistasis in which an individual must be homozygous for either recessive allele to mask a particular phenotype.
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What is a gene modifier effect?

A gene modifier effect means that the alleles of one gene modify the phenotypic effect of the alleles of a different gene.

What is a gene knockout?

A gene knockout refers to the condition in which both copies of a gene have been altered to an inactive form (in the case of diploid species).

What is gene redundancy?

Gene redundancy is the phenomenon in which one gene can compensate for the loss of function of another gene.

Explain why a single gene knockout does not always have an effect on the phenotype.

In some cases, a single gene knockout does not have an effect due to gene redundancy.

At the molecular level (with regard to loss-of-function alleles), explain why the ttvv homozygote has an ovate seed capsule.

The two genes determining capsule shape are redundant. Having one functional allele of either gene produces a triangular capsule. If both genes are inactive, an ovate capsule is produced.

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