What term describes the inheritance of a trait which in the heterozygote has an intermediate expression between either allele?
Biology · High School · Mon Jan 18 2021
Answered on
The term which describes the inheritance of a trait whereby the heterozygote expresses an intermediate phenotype between the two homozygous forms is called "incomplete dominance." In incomplete dominance, neither allele is completely dominant over the other. This results in the expression of a intermediate trait in the heterozygous individuals that is somewhere between the phenotypes of the two homozygotes.
For example, if a red-flowered plant (RR) is crossed with a white-flowered plant (WW), and the resulting offspring have pink flowers (RW), this is a case of incomplete dominance. The red allele (R) and the white allele (W) blend to create the pink phenotype in the heterozygous plants (RW).