Question
Biology Question on Principles of Inheritance and Variation
A gene pair hides the effect of another gene. The phenomenon is called
A
dominance
B
segregation
C
epistasis
D
mutation.
Answer
epistasis
Explanation
Solution
Epistasis is the phenomenon of suppression of phenotypic expression of gene by a nonallelic gene which shows its own effect. The gene which masks the effect of another is called epistatic gene while the one which is suppressed is termed hypostatic gene. Epistasis is of three types - dominant, recessive and dominant-recessive. Two or more different pairs of alleles, with a presumed cummulative effect governing quantitive traits like size, pigmentation etc., are called polygenes.