Epistasis and Multiple Alleles Differ in That

Question

Epistasis and multiple alleles differ in that
A) epistasis is an interaction between two different chromosomes, and multiple alleles affect a single gene.
B) epistasis is an interaction between two genes, and multiple alleles are variants of the same gene.
C) epistasis affects males and multiple alleles occur in females.
D) epistasis only occurs in genes that have multiple alleles.
E) in epistasis one gene masks another, but one allele cannot mask the effect of another.

Accepted Answer

Epistasis involves an interaction between two genes, while multiple alleles refer to the presence of more than two versions (alleles) of a single gene. Option A is incorrect because epistasis can occur between genes on the same chromosome. Option C is incorrect because sex does not determine the occurrence of epistasis or multiple alleles. Option D is incorrect because epistasis can occur in genes with only two alleles. Option E is incorrect because in some cases, one allele can mask the effect of another (e.g. dominant vs recessive alleles).