suppose a white-furred rabbit breeds with a black-furred rabbit and all of their offspring have a phenotype of gray fur. what does the gene for fur color in rabbits appear to be an example of?
The gene for fur color in this rabbit scenario appears to be an example of incomplete dominance. When a white-furred rabbit and a black-furred rabbit produce offspring that are all gray, it suggests that:
- Neither the white nor the black allele is completely dominant.
- The heterozygous genotype (one white allele, one black allele) produces a blended phenotype (gray), intermediate between the two parents.
- This fits the classic definition of incomplete dominance, where the heterozygote shows an intermediate trait rather than fully expressing one parent’s trait or showing both distinctly (which would be codominance).