Incomplete Dominance in Genetics

Snapdragon flower (Antirrhinum) blooming
Robert Ullmann / Getty Images

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 is a form of intermediate inheritance in which one allele for a specific trait is not completely expressed over its paired allele.

Comparison With Co-Dominance

Incomplete genetic dominance is similar to but different from co-dominance. Whereas incomplete dominance is a blending of traits, in co-dominance an additional phenotype is produced and both alleles are expressed completely. 

The best example of co-dominance is AB blood type inheritance. Blood type is determined by multiple alleles recognized as A, B, or O and in blood type AB, both phenotypes are fully expressed. 

Discovery

Scientists have noted the blending of traits back into ancient times, although until Mendel, no one used the words "incomplete dominance." In fact, Genetics was not a scientific discipline until the 1800s when Viennese scientist and friar Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) began his studies.

Austrian Botanist Gregor Mendel
Bettmann Archive / Getty Images

Like many others, Mendel focused on plants and, in particular, the pea plant. He helped define genetic dominance when he noticed that the plants had either purple or white flowers. No peas had lavender colors as one might suspect.

Up to that time, scientists believed that physical traits in a child would always be a blend of the traits of the parents. Mendel proved that in some cases, the offspring can inherit different traits separately. In his pea plants, traits were visible only if an allele was dominant or if both alleles were recessive.

Mendel described a genotype ratio of 1:2:1 and a phenotype ratio of 3:1. Both would be consequential for further research.

While Mendel's work laid the foundation, it was German botanist Carl Correns (1864–1933) who is credited with the actual discovery of incomplete dominance. In the early 1900s, Correns conducted similar research on four o'clock plants.

In his work, Correns observed a blend of colors in flower petals. This led him to the conclusion that the 1:2:1 genotype ratio prevailed and that each genotype had its own phenotype. In turn, this allowed the heterozygotes to display both alleles rather than a dominant one, as Mendel had found.

Example: 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, plants with pink flowers are heterozygous with the (Rr) genotype. The red and white flowering plants are both homozygous for plant color with genotypes of (RR) red and (rr) white.

Polygenic Traits

Polygenic traits, such as height, weight, eye color, and skin color, are determined by more than one gene and by interactions among several alleles. The genes contributing to these traits equally influence the phenotype and the alleles for these genes are found on different chromosomes.

The alleles have an additive effect on the phenotype resulting in varying degrees of phenotypic expression. Individuals may express varying degrees of a dominant phenotype, recessive phenotype, or intermediate phenotype.

  • Those that inherit more dominant alleles will have a greater expression of the dominant phenotype.
  • Those that inherit more recessive alleles will have a greater expression of the recessive phenotype.
  • Those that inherit various combinations of dominant and recessive alleles will express the intermediate phenotype to varying degrees.
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Bailey, Regina. "Incomplete Dominance in Genetics." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/incomplete-dominance-a-genetics-definition-373471. Bailey, Regina. (2020, August 28). Incomplete Dominance in Genetics. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/incomplete-dominance-a-genetics-definition-373471 Bailey, Regina. "Incomplete Dominance in Genetics." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/incomplete-dominance-a-genetics-definition-373471 (accessed March 19, 2024).