54 Incomplete dominance: when traits blend
Flower color in snapdragons
Mendel’s results in crossing peas, black vs brown fur color, and eumelanin production vs pheomelanin production all demonstrate traits are inherited as dominant and recessive. This contradicts the historical view that offspring always exhibited a blend of their parents’ traits. However, sometimes heterozygote phenotype is intermediate between the two parents. For example, in the snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus (Figure 20), a cross between a homozygous parent with white flowers (CWCW) and a homozygous parent with red flowers (CRCR) will produce offspring with pink flowers (CRCW) (Figure 21).
Note that different genotypic abbreviations are used to distinguish these patterns from simple dominance and recessiveness. The abbreviation CW can be read as “at the flower color gene (C), the white allele is present.”
This pattern of inheritance is described as incomplete dominance, meaning that neither of the alleles is completely dominant over the other: both alleles can be seen at the same time. The allele for red flowers is incompletely dominant over the allele for white flowers. Red + white = pink. The results of a cross where the alleles are incompletely dominant can still be predicted, just as with complete dominant and recessive crosses. Figure 22 shows the results from a cross between two heterozygous individuals: CRCW x CRCW . The expected offspring would have the genotypic ratio 1 CRCR:2 CRCW:1 CWCW, and the phenotypic ratio would be 1:2:1 for red:pink:white. The basis for the intermediate color in the heterozygote is simply that the pigment produced by the red allele (anthocyanin) is diluted in the heterozygote and therefore appears pink because of the white background of the flower petals.
Straight, curly, and wavy hair in dogs
Another example of incomplete dominance is the inheritance of straight, wavy, and curly hair in dogs. The KRT71 gene is used to synthesize the keratin 71 protein. Genes in the KRT family provide instructions for making proteins called keratins. Keratins are a group of tough, fibrous proteins that form the structural framework of epithelial cells, which are cells that line the surfaces and cavities of the body. Epithelial cells make up tissues such as the hair, skin, and nails. These cells also line the internal organs and are an important part of many glands.
Keratins are best known for providing strength and resilience to cells that form the hair, skin, and nails. These proteins allow tissues to resist damage from friction and minor trauma, such as rubbing and scratching. Keratins are also involved in several other critical cell functions, including cell movement (migration), regulation of cell size, cell growth and division (proliferation), wound healing, and transport of materials within cells. Different combinations of keratin proteins are found in different tissues.
The mutation which causes curly hair in dogs, such as the labradoodle seen in Figure