How do different patterns of inheritance affect phenotype expression?

Different patterns of inheritance can affect phenotype expression in various ways.

The inheritance pattern of dominant traits means that if an individual inherits one copy of the dominant allele, the phenotype will be expressed. For example, if an individual inherits one dominant allele for brown eyes and one recessive allele for blue eyes, they will have brown eyes. In contrast, recessive traits require two copies of the recessive allele for the phenotype to be expressed. For example, an individual must inherit two copies of the recessive allele for cystic fibrosis to be expressed.

Incomplete dominance occurs when the phenotype of the heterozygote is intermediate between the two homozygotes. For example, if a red flower and a white flower are crossed, the resulting offspring may have pink flowers. Codominance occurs when both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype. For example, if a black chicken and a white chicken are crossed, the resulting offspring may have black and white feathers.

Sex-linked inheritance occurs when the gene is located on the sex chromosomes. For example, the gene for color blindness is located on the X chromosome. As a result, males are more likely to be color blind than females because they only have one X chromosome.

Overall, different patterns of inheritance can affect phenotype expression in various ways, and understanding these patterns is crucial for predicting the inheritance of traits.

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