Which of the Following Describes the Ability of a Single

Question

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

Accepted Answer

Pleiotropy is the ability of a single gene to affect multiple phenotypic traits. For example, sickle cell anemia is caused by a single gene, but it affects multiple traits such as red blood cell shape, blood flow, and resistance to malaria. Incomplete dominance refers to a situation where a heterozygous phenotype is intermediate between the two homozygous phenotypes. Multiple alleles refer to the presence of more than two forms of a gene in a population. Epistasis refers to the interaction between two different genes, where one gene masks the expression of another gene.