Which of the following describes the ability of a single gene to have multiple phenotypic effects?
A) incomplete dominance
B) multiple alleles
C) pleiotropy
D) epistasis
Answer: C
Mendel and the Gene Idea
- Humanoids on the newly explored planet Brin (in a hypothetical galaxy in ~50 years from the present) have a gene structure similar to our own, but many very different plants and animals.
- A woman who has blood type A positive has a daughter who is type O positive and a son who is type B negative. Rh positive is a trait that shows simple dominance over Rh negative and is designated by the alleles R and r, respectively. A third gene for the MN blood group has codominant alleles M and N.
- Feather color in budgies is determined by two different genes, Y and B, one for pigment on the outside and one for the inside of the feather. YYBB, YyBB, or YYBb is green; yyBB or yyBb is blue; YYbb or Yybb is yellow; and yybb is white.
- Gene S controls the sharpness of spines in a type of cactus. Cactuses with the dominant allele, S, have sharp spines, whereas homozygous recessive ss cactuses have dull spines. At the same time, a second gene, N, determines whether or not cactuses have spines. Homozygous recessive nn cactuses have no spines at all.
- Skin color in a certain species of fish is inherited via a single gene with four different alleles.
- Tallness (T) in snapdragons is dominant to dwarfness (t), while red (R) flower color is dominant to white (r). The heterozygous condition results in pink (Rr) flower color.
- Drosophila (fruit flies) usually have long wings (+) but mutations in two different genes can result in bent wings (bt) or vestigial wings (vg).
- Radish flowers may be red, purple, or white. A cross between a red-flowered plant and a white-flowered plant yields all-purple offspring. The part of the radish we eat may be oval or long, with long being the dominant characteristic.
- Labrador retrievers are black, brown, or yellow. In a cross of a black female with a brown male, results can be either all black puppies, 1/2 black to 1/2 brown puppies, or 3/4 black to 1/4 yellow puppies.
- Two true-breeding stocks of pea plants are crossed. One parent has red, axial flowers and the other has white, terminal flowers; all F1 individuals have red, axial flowers. The genes for flower color and location assort independently.
- Use the following pedigree (Figure 14.3) for a family in which dark-shaded symbols represent individuals with one of the two major types of colon cancer. Numbers under the symbols are the individual's age at the time of diagnosis.
- The following questions refer to the pedigree chart in Figure 14.2 for a family, some of whose members exhibit the dominant trait, W. Affected individuals are indicated by a dark square or circle.
- In a particular plant, leaf color is controlled by gene locus D. Plants with at least one allele D have dark green leaves, and plants with the homozygous recessive dd genotype have light green leaves. A true-breeding dark-leaved plant is crossed with a light-leaved one, and the F1 offspring is allowed to self-pollinate. The predicted outcome of the F2 is diagrammed in the Punnett square shown in Figure 14.1, where 1, 2, 3, and 4 represent the genotypes corresponding to each box within the square.
- One of two major forms of a human condition called neurofibromatosis (NF 1) is inherited as a dominant gene, although it may range from mildly to very severely expressed. If a young child is the first in her family to be diagnosed, which of the following is the best explanation?
- Hutchinson-Gilford progeria is an exceedingly rare human genetic disorder in which there is very early senility and death, usually from coronary artery disease, at an average age of approximately 13. Patients, who look very old even as children, do not live to reproduce. Which of the following represents the most likely assumption?
- Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a recessive human disorder in which an individual cannot appropriately metabolize a particular amino acid. The amino acid is not otherwise produced by humans. Therefore, the most efficient and effective treatment is which of the following?
- The frequency of heterozygosity for the sickle-cell anemia allele is unusually high, presumably because this reduces the frequency of malaria. Such a relationship is related to which of the following?
- An obstetrician knows that one of her patients is a pregnant woman whose fetus is at risk for a serious disorder that is detectable biochemically in fetal cells. The obstetrician would most reasonably offer which of the following procedures to her patient?
- A scientist discovers a DNA-based test for one allele of a particular gene. This and only this allele, if homozygous, produces an effect that results in death at or about the time of birth. Of the following, which is the best use of this discovery?
- An ideal procedure for fetal testing in humans would have which of the following features?
- How could you best predict the maximum number of alleles for a single gene whose polypeptide product is known?
- Most genes have many more than two alleles. However, which of the following is also true?
- Which of the following provides an example of epistasis?
- Hydrangea plants of the same genotype are planted in a large flower garden. Some of the plants produce blue flowers and others pink flowers. This can be best explained by which of the following?
- Which of the following is an example of polygenic inheritance?