Question

multiple choice question
tabby cats are cats that have bands of color. a tabby cat mates with a black cat. all of the offspring of the cats are tabby colored. what inference can you make about
the how the fur trait is inherited in the cats offspring?

• black color allele is recessive to the banding allele.
• black color allele and banding allele are codominant.
• black color and banding alleles are incomplete dominant alleles.
• black color allele is dominant to the banding allele.

Explanation:

To determine the inheritance pattern, we analyze the offspring: a tabby (banded) cat and a black cat produce only tabby offspring. In Mendelian inheritance, if one allele masks the other (dominant - recessive), the dominant trait appears in the offspring. Since all offspring show the tabby (banding) trait, the banding allele (tabby) must be dominant over the black allele. Let's analyze each option:

• Option 1: "Black color allele is recessive to the banding allele." This fits our analysis. If the black allele is recessive, the dominant banding (tabby) allele will be expressed in all offspring when a tabby (dominant) and black (recessive) cat mate.
• Option 2: Codominance would result in offspring showing both traits (e.g., tabby - black mixed), but all offspring are tabby, so this is incorrect.
• Option 3: Incomplete dominance would result in an intermediate phenotype (not tabby or black, but a mix), which is not the case here, so this is incorrect.
• Option 4: If black were dominant, offspring would show black color, but they are tabby, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

A. Black color allele is recessive to the banding allele.