 Codominance

What causes codominance?

Indeed, "codominance" is the specific term for a system in which an
allele from each homozygote parent combines in the offspring, and the
offspring simultaneously demonstrates both phenotypes. An example
of codominance occurs in the human ABO blood group system.

What is codominance in blood type?

Codominant expression occurs when two different alleles are inherited
at the same genetic location (i.e, one allele from mom and a different
one from dad), and the products of BOTH of the alleles are expressed.
Codominance is the most common pattern in blood group genetics.

codominance, in genetics, phenomenon in which two alleles (different

versions of the same gene) are expressed to an equal degree within an
organism. As a result, traits associated with each allele are displayed
simultaneously.

An example of codominance is seen in the MN blood group system of

humans. MN blood type is governed by two alleles, M and N.
Individuals who are homozygous for the M allele have a surface
molecule (called the M antigen) on their red blood cells. Similarly, those
homozygous for the N allele have the N antigen on their red blood cells.
Heterozygotes—those with both alleles—carry both antigens. An
example of codominance for a gene with multiple alleles is seen in the
human ABO blood group system. Persons with type AB blood have one
 allele for A and one for B; the O allele is recessive (its expression is
masked by the other alleles).

Examples of codominance in animals include speckled chickens, which

have alleles for both black and white feathers, and roan cattle, which
express alleles for both red hair and white hair. Codominance is also
seen in plants. For example, rhododendrons with simultaneous
expression of red and white genes for flower colour display flowers
with both red and white petals.

As Table 1 indicates, only four phenotypes result from the six possible
ABO genotypes. How does this happen? To understand why this occurs,
first note that the A and B alleles code for proteins that exist on the
surface of red blood cells; in contrast, the third allele, O, codes for no
protein. Thus, if one parent is homozygous for type A blood and the
other is homozygous for type B, the offspring will have a new
phenotype, type AB. In people with type AB blood, both A and B
proteins are expressed on the surface of red blood cells equally.
Therefore, this AB phenotype is not an intermediate of the two
parental phenotypes, but rather is an entirely new phenotype that
results from codominance of the A and B alleles. Of course, in this
system, AB is not the only heterozygote; people may also be AO or BO.
All of these heterozygote genotypes demonstrate the coexistence of
two phenotypes within the same individual.
 Overdominance
In some instances, offspring can demonstrate a phenotype that is
outside the range defined by both parents. In particular, the
phenomenon known as overdominance occurs when a heterozygote
has a more extreme phenotype than that of either of its parents.
Indeed, in a few examples, a trait that shows overdominance
sometimes confers a survival advantage in the heterozygote (Parsons &
Bodmer, 1961).

A well-known example of overdominance occurs in the alleles that code for

sickle-cell anemia. Sickle-cell anemia is a debilitating disease of the red
blood cells, wherein a single amino acid deletion causes a change in the
conformation of a person's hemoglobin such that the person's red
blood cells are elongated and somewhat curved, taking on a sickle
shape. This change in shape makes the sickle red blood cells less
efficient at transporting oxygen through the bloodstream.

The altered form of hemoglobin that causes sickle-cell anemia is

inherited as a codominant trait. Specifically, heterozygous (Ss)
individuals express both normal and sickle hemoglobin, so they have a
mixture of normal and sickle red blood cells. In most situations,
individuals who are heterozygous for sickle-cell anemia are
phenotypically normal. Under these circumstances, sickle-cell disease is
a recessive trait. Individuals who are homozygous for the sickle-cell
allele (ss), however, may have sickling crises that require
hospitalization. In severe cases, this condition can be lethal.
 Producing altered hemoglobin can be beneficial for inhabitants of
countries afflicted with falciparum malaria, an extremely deadly
parasitic disease. Sickle blood cells "collapse" around the parasites and
filter them out of the blood. Thus, people who carry the sickle-cell allele
are more likely to recover from malarial infection. In terms of
combating malaria, the Ss genotype has an advantage over both the SS
genotype, because it results in malarial resistance, and the ss genotype,
because it does not cause sickling crises. This complex example of
overdominance may be the sole reason that the allele persists in the
human population today (Keeton & Gould, 1986).

Multiple Alleles and Dominance Series

Allelic dominance always depends on the relative influence of each
allele for a specific phenotype under certain environmental conditions.
For example, in the pea plant (Pisum sativum), the timing of flowering
follows a monohybrid (single-gene) inheritance pattern in certain
genetic backgrounds. While there is some variation in the exact time of
flowering within plants that have the same genotype, specific alleles at
this locus (Lf) can exert temporal control of flowering in different
backgrounds (Murfet, 1975). Investigators have found evidence for four
different alleles at this locus: Lfd, Lf, lf, and lfa. Plants homozygous for
the lfa allele flower the earliest, while Lfd plants flower the latest. A
single allele causes the delayed flowering. Thus, the multiple alleles at
the Lf locus represent an allelic series, with each allele being dominant
over the next allele in the series. In this case: Lfd > Lf > lf > lfa (Table 2).

Summarizing the Role of Dominance and

Recessivity
 Mendel's early work with pea plants provided the foundational
knowledge for genetics, but Mendel's simple example of two alleles,
one dominant and one recessive, for a given gene is a rarity. In fact,
dominance and recessiveness are not actually allelic properties. Rather,
they are effects that can only be measured in relation to the effects of
other alleles at the same locus. Furthermore, dominance may change
according to the level of organization of the phenotype. Variations of
dominance highlight the complexity of understanding genetic
influences on phenotypes.
  CHROMOSOME

Chromosomes are threadlike structures made of protein and a single molecule of DNA that serve to
carry the genomic information from cell to cell. In plants and animals (including humans), chromosomes
reside in the nucleus of cells. Humans have 22 pairs of numbered chromosomes (autosomes) and one
pair of sex chromosomes (XX or XY), for a total of 46. Each pair contains two chromosomes, one coming
from each parent, which means that children inherit half of their chromosomes from their mother and
half from their father. Chromosomes can be seen through a microscope when the nucleus dissolves
during cell division.
Chromosome
Chromosomes are structures found in the center (nucleus) of cells that carry long pieces of DNA. DNA is
the material that holds genes. It is the building block of the human body.

Chromosomes also contain proteins that help DNA exist in the proper form.

Information

Chromosomes come in pairs. Normally, each cell in the human body has 23 pairs of chromosomes (46
total chromosomes). Half come from the mother; the other half come from the father.

Two of the chromosomes (the X and the Y chromosome) determine your sex as male or female when
you are born. They are called sex chromosomes:

Females have 2 X chromosomes.

Males have 1 X and 1 Y chromosome.

The mother gives an X chromosome to the child. The father may contribute an X or a Y. The
chromosome from the father determines if the baby is born as male or female.

The remaining chromosomes are called autosomal chromosomes. They are known as chromosome pairs
1 through 22.
  INCOMPLETE DOMINANCE
Incomplete dominance is a form of gene interaction in which both alleles of a gene at a lucos are
partially expressed,often resulting in an intermediate or different phenotype.

After Gregor Mendel discovered inheritance laws, the term ”incomplete dominance” was proposed by
the German botanist, Carl Correns (1864–1933). Carl Correns continued research and conducted an
experiment on four o’clock flowers. This experiment leads to the discovery of incomplete dominance–a
condition in which a heterozygous individual doesn’t show a dominant allele rather shows a phenotype
intermediate of the phenotypes of the dominant and recessive alleles.

 What is incomplete dominance?

The phenomenon in which two true-breeding parents crossed to produce an intermediate offspring
(also known as heterozygous) is called incomplete dominance. It is also referred to as partial
dominance or intermediate inheritance.

In incomplete dominance, the variants (alleles) are not expressed as dominant or recessive; rather, the
dominant allele is expressed in a reduced ratio.

To further understand the basic concept of incomplete dominance, some terms are defined briefly as
follows:

An allele is a form, version, or set of gene expressions. An organism consists of two alleles from each
parent for one gene. The allele that masks or suppresses other alleles and becomes prominent in the
offspring is called a dominant allele. The effect of an allele that is suppressed by the dominant allele and
does not appear in the offspring is referred to as a recessive allele. Multiple alleles refer to the various
alleles (two or more) for the same gene.

An organism that possesses two same alleles for a specific gene and can truly breed for the allele is
described as homozygous. An organism that possesses two different alleles for a specific gene is
described as heterozygous.

A set of genes in an organism that is inherited by the offspring and that determines the offspring’s
observable physical features is called the genotype. Phenotype is determined by the genotype and
refers to the organism’s appearance, characteristics, behavior, and development (physically observable
features).

The number of times of trait appearance in the offspring after crossing the genes or alleles of the
specific trait identified through the genotypic ratio. The genotypic ratio is better understood through the
Punnett square. Punnett square shows all the possible traits (genotypes) of the new offspring in
graphical or table form after the crossing of homozygotes.

Although we commonly refer to different alleles as being dominant or recessive, dominance is a

property of the phenotype. There are many forms of dominance: complete dominance, incomplete
dominance, and codominance. In complete dominance, there is no difference in phenotype between AA
and Aa individuals. In incomplete dominance, the phenotype in a heterozygous individual is visibly less
intense than that in an individual homozygous for the dominant allele, so that AA and Aa genotypes
produce different phenotypes. Hence, the heterozygote (Aa) will have a phenotype intermediate
between that of AA and aa individuals.

 Defining incomplete dominance

Incomplete dominance is defined differently as follows:

The incomplete dominance is referred to as the dilution of the dominant allele with respect to the
recessive allele, resulting in a new heterozygous phenotype. For example, the pink color of flowers
(such as snapdragons or four o’clock flowers), the shape of hairs, hand sizes, voice pitch in humans.

The intermediate trait appearance in between the phenotypes of homozygous traits in the
heterozygote is called incomplete dominance.

The formation of a third phenotype specifically with traits that results from the combination of parent
alleles is known as incomplete dominance or

The incomplete dominance is referred to as intermediate inheritance in terms of trait expression, and
none of the alleles from the paired alleles expressed over the other for a specific trait.

According to some definitions, there are several assumptions about incomplete dominance; an
incomplete dominance occurs due to the combination of parent alleles, both dominant and recessive.
Whereas, several definitions define incomplete dominance as a phenomenon in which the heterozygote
produced possesses an intermediate trait between the two homozygous traits. Moreover, some
definitions show incomplete dominance in which the new offspring has a specific trait in less intensity
than the dominant trait among the paired alleles. In other words, the trait is neither dominant nor
recessive.

The situation in which the phenotype of the heterozygote is clearly manifested is a cross between two
homozygous phenotypes. After the combination of homozygous alleles (F1 generation), the
heterozygote will have the intermediate trait. At F2 generation, it, then, shows a ratio of 1:2:1
phenotype in which the two are intermediate traits and others are either dominant and recessive traits.

In incomplete dominance, both alleles of the homozygous genotypes are not expressed over one
another; rather, an intermediate heterozygote is formed. Incomplete dominance is a key role factor in
the variation of an organism’s features or characteristics.
  Mechanisms of Incomplete Dominance
Mendel’s experiment shows complete dominance after crossing the pea plants’ traits (round and
wrinkled), meaning the pea plants with specific traits; round and wrinkled peas were crossed. This
results in pea plants with round peas showing round as a dominant allele. Thus, the dominant allele was
expressed over the recessive allele that is wrinkled peas.

Keeping Mendel’s work under consideration, Carl Correns performed an experiment on four o’clock
flowers. He took two true-breeding flower traits (red color as dominant allele and white color as a
recessive allele) of four o’clock flowers and crossed them. The results show an intermediate
heterozygote with pink color flowers (none of the alleles get dominant). This situation in inheritance is
known as incomplete dominance.

 How does incomplete dominance work?

To understand the mechanism of incomplete dominance, the botanists use Punnett square. The
Punnett square predicts the genotype of the breeding experiment. In this case, one plant producing red
flowers and another plant producing white flowers are crossed.
Figure 1: A test cross between red and white flower-bearing plants produced offspring that blooms with
pink flowers. Source: Maria Victoria Gonzaga & Ghulam Mujtaba, BiologyOnline.com

The above Punnett square results in heterozygous offspring with an intermediate trait of pink color,
showing that no allele gets dominated over the other. The two alleles are not expressed in a way to hide
the effect of the other allele; instead, the phenotype is in between the two and intermediate. Thus, the
heterozygote is one that produces flowers with a pink color.

For F2 generation, the heterozygotes are crossed to see the respective phenotypes.
The phenotype in the F2 generation results in the same ratio as proposed by Mendel, i.e., 1:2:1. The
offspring phenotypes were 25% red flowers, 25% white flowers, and 50% pink flowers. This shows that
incomplete dominance does not necessarily involve absolute blending because the heterozygote
contains both distinct traits or alleles, i.e., red and white color, which after crossing the heterozygotes in
the F2 generation, the red and white color traits still appear. Moreover, in incomplete dominance, the
offspring contain both alleles, but alleles’ expression gets intermediate between the two parent traits.

A typical example is the color of the flower in which R symbolizes the dominant allele for red pigment
and r is the recessive allele for no pigment. In incomplete dominance, the heterozygous plant carrying
both alleles, Rr, will not be able to produce enough pigment for red flowers, since the amount of
pigment produced under the direction of the single R allele is insufficient for full color and therefore will
appear pink.

 Incomplete Dominance and Codominance

The laws of inheritance proposed by Mendel defined the dominance factors in inheritance and the
effects of alleles on the phenotypes. Codominance and incomplete dominance are different types of
inheritance (specifically genetic). However, both incomplete dominance and codominance types of
dominance were not identified by Mendel. However, his work leads to their identification. Several
botanists worked in the inheritance field and found these respective dominance types. The incomplete
dominance and codominance are often mixed up. Therefore, it is important to see the primary factors
that lead to differing from each other.

 Incomplete dominance
As mentioned earlier, incomplete dominance is a partial dominance, meaning the phenotype is in
between the genotype dominant and recessive alleles. In the above example, the resulting offspring has
a pink color trait despite the dominant red color and white color trait due to incomplete dominance. The
dominant allele does not mask the recessive allele resulting in a phenotype different from both alleles,
i.e., pink color. The incomplete dominance carries genetic importance because it explains the fact of the
intermediate existence of phenotype from two different alleles. Moreover, Mendel explains the Law of
dominance that only one allele is dominant over the other, and that allele can be one from both. The
dominating allele will reduce the effect of the recessive allele.

Whereas in incomplete dominance, the two alleles remain within the produced phenotype, but the
offspring possess a totally different trait. Mendel did not study incomplete dominance because the pea
plant does not show any incomplete dominance (intermediate traits). However, the Mendel proposed
ratio 1:2:1 tends to be accurate for incomplete dominance, as seen in the example of the four o’clock
flower, where the F1 generation results in red, pink, and white flowers genotypic ratio of 1:2:1,
respectively.

These results show the Law of inheritance where alleles are inherited from parents to offspring still
occurs in the incomplete dominance described by Mendel. In research on quantitative genetics, the
possibility for incomplete dominance requires the resulting phenotype to be partially related to any of
the genotypes (homozygotes); otherwise, there will be no dominance.

 Codominance
Codominance refers to the dominance in which the two alleles or traits of the genotypes (of both
homozygotes) are expressed together in offspring (phenotype). There is neither a dominant nor
recessive allele in cross-breeding. Rather the two alleles remain present and formed as a mixture of both
of the alleles (that each allele has the tendency to add phenotypic expression during the breeding
process).

In some cases, the codominance is also referred to as no dominance due to the appearance of both
alleles (of homozygotes) in the offspring (heterozygote). Thus, the phenotype produced is distinctive
from the genotypes of the homozygotes.
The upper case letters are used with several superscripts to distinguish the codominant alleles while
expressing them in writings. This writing style indicates that each allele can express even in the presence
of other alleles (alternative).

The example of codominance can be seen in plants with white color as recessive allele and red color as
dominant allele produce flowers with pink and white color (spots) after cross-breeding. Similarly,
Mendel also did not consider the codominance factor due to the pea plant’s limited traits. However,
further research revealed the codominance in plants and vice versa. The genotypic ratio was the same
as Mendel described. They produced offspring that results in the F1 generation to include red, spotted
(white and pink), and white with the same genotypic ratio.

Codominance can be easily found in plants and animals because of color differentiation, as well as in
humans to some extinct, such as blood type. The incomplete dominance produces offspring with
intermediate traits whereas the codominance involves the mixing of allelic expressions. However, in
both types of dominance, the parent alleles remain in the heterozygote. Nonetheless, no allele is
dominant over the other.

Incomplete dominance is used to improve corn crops as the partially dominating traits of corn are
generally high yielding and healthier than original ones with fewer traits.

The multiple alleles occupy the same locus of the chromosome within an organism that causes varying
organisms’ varying characteristics. In plants, the self-sterility n is an example of multiple alleles that
causes the rapid growth of pollen tubes.

 In humans
Despite the concept of adaptation of incomplete dominance by humans in genetics to increase better
living, incomplete dominance can also be seen in humans genetically. The crossing of two different
alleles in the genetic process produces human offspring either with different or intermediate forms
between the two traits. Thus, it can be said that incomplete dominance is as old as a human life that
leads to variation with time.

Most of the physical characteristics of humans, including hairs, eye color, height, skin color, sound
pitch, and hand sizes, show incomplete dominance. Children born with semi-curly or wavy hair are an
example of individuals exhibiting incomplete dominance because the crossing of parents alleles both
straight and curly hairs to produce such offspring. Thus, incomplete dominance occurs to produce an
intermediate trait between the two parent traits. The eye color of humans is a more common example
of incomplete dominance. However, understanding incomplete dominance for eye color is quite
complicated.

Human height patterns also show incomplete dominance. Parents with different heights have offspring
that show height in between the parent’s height range rather than similar to any one of the parents.
Human skin color is another example of incomplete dominance because the genes that produce the
melanin (pigment) for either dark or light skin cannot show dominance over the other. Thus, the
offspring produced have an intermediate skin color between the parents.

Usually, male humans have high-pitched sound, and other homozygotes have reduced sound pitches.
The resulting heterozygote individual would have an intermediate voice pitch rather than high or low
sound pitches.

Similar to the above characteristics of humans, hand sizes also show incomplete dominance in the same
manner. The offspring will have intermediate or medium-sized hands as compared to his/her parents.

Also, carriers of Tay-Sachs disease show incomplete dominance. In Tay-Sachs, the individuals do not
have enzymes responsible for breaking down the lipids, leading to the accumulation of lipids all over the
body, especially in the brain and nervous system. The lipid accumulation leads to the loss of abilities,
both physical and mental, due to nerve deterioration. Another disease named familial
hypercholesterolemia (FH) shows incomplete dominance. One type of allele causes the generation of
liver cells either normally or without the receptors of cholesterol. Thus, incomplete dominance causes
these cells unable to fully remove the excess cholesterol from the blood.

 In other animals
In some animals or birds, the phenomenon of incomplete dominance is also visible. Several examples of
incomplete dominance can be seen in chicken, rabbits, dogs (Labradoodles), cats, horses. Below are the
ways that show how incomplete dominance occurs in these animals.

An Andalusian chicken (found in Spain) is an example of incomplete dominance. An offspring produced

shows incomplete dominance in its feathers as the parents (a white feathered male and a black
feathered female chicken) breeds to produce an offspring with blue and tinged feathers. This incomplete
dominance occurs due to a diluting gene that reduces the intensity of the effect of melanin (a pigment)
and lightens the color of feathers in the offspring.

When long and short furred rabbits are bred together, the offspring produced have varying lengths of
fur (medium). Usually, the breeding of short-furred Rex and a long-furred Angora produces medium-
length furs.

Similarly, the dog’s tail’s length also shows incomplete dominance. When a long-tailed dog parent is
bred with a short-tailed dog parent, the offspring produced has a medium-sized tail. Another example is
the labradoodle. They have wavy hairs that result when the straight and curly-haired parent dogs are
bred.

The other example includes the spots on animals’ bodies more visible in cats, dogs, and horses. When
bred (a more spotted animal with a less spotted animal), these animals will produce offspring with
varying spots (less than more spotted parent and more than less spotted parent).
Summary
 Now you are able to identify the incomplete dominance examples in different life
forms due to a better understanding of the respective term. Plus, next time you will
go out somewhere, you will see which flowers show incomplete dominance and other
small pets.
 Moreover, try to explore yourself first, look at the characteristics you differ from
your parents, and find if any one of those features shows incomplete dominance,
such as your hairs, sound, hand sizes, or height.
 You can also practice by crossing different alleles and see what characteristics the
offspring will have by using the Punnett square.
 Lastly, think about what you can add for better life forms by using the concept of
incomplete dominance.