Incomplete dominance is a form of intermediate inheritance in which one allele for a specific trait is

not completely expressed over its paired allele. This results in a third phenotype in which the
expressed physical trait is a combination of the phenotypes of both alleles.

Incomplete dominance is a form of intermediate inheritance in which one allele for a specific
trait is not completely expressed over its paired allele. This results in a third phenotype in
which the expressed physical trait is a combination of the phenotypes of both alleles. Unlike
complete dominance inheritance, one allele does not dominate or mask the other.

Incomplete dominance occurs in the polygenic inheritance of traits such as eye color and skin
color. It is a cornerstone in the study of non-Mendelian genetics.
Incomplete Dominance in Snapdragons

As an example, incomplete dominance is seen in cross-pollination experiments between red

and white snapdragon plants. In this monohybrid cross, the allele that produces the red color
(R) is not completely expressed over the allele that produces the white color (r). The
resulting offspring are all pink.

The genotypes are: Red (RR) X White (rr) = Pink (Rr).

 When the first filial (F1) generation consisting of all pink plants is allowed to cross-
pollinate, the resulting plants (F2 generation) consist of all three phenotypes [1/4 Red
(RR): 1/2 Pink (Rr): 1/4 White (rr)]. The phenotypic ratio is 1:2:1.
 When the F1 generation is allowed to cross-pollinate with true breeding red plants,
the resulting F2 plants consist of red and pink phenotypes [1/2 Red (RR): 1/2 Pink
(Rr)]. The phenotypic ratio is 1:1.
 When the F1 generation is allowed to cross-pollinate with true breeding white plants,
the resulting F2 plants consist of white and pink phenotypes [1/2 White (rr): 1/2
Pink (Rr)]. The phenotypic ratio is 1:1.

In incomplete dominance, the intermediate trait is the heterozygous genotype. In the case of
snapdragon plants, the pink plants are heterozygous with the (Rr) genotype. The red and
white plants are both homozygous for plant color with genotypes of (RR) red and (rr) white.