Epistasis is observed when the allele of one gene masks the effects of another gene. Use the Punnett square to answer the question.What color would a dog's fur be if its genes are aabb?AB Ab aB ab AB AABB AABb AaBB AaBb black black black black Ab AABb AAbb AaBb Aabb black brown black brown aB AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb black black yellow yellow ab AaBb Aabb aaBb aabb black brown yellow ?1 point)Responseswhitewhitebrownbrownyellowyellowblackblack

1 answer

To determine the color of a dog's fur with the genotype "aabb," we need to analyze the impact of the genes in question, typically represented as alleles A, B, or a, b. The question implies that one gene (A/a) may influence fur color in conjunction with the other gene (B/b).

From the information given in the Punnett square, we can see the following relationships:

  • "A" (possibly dominant) results in a color, while "a" (recessive) does not.
  • "B" (possibly dominant) also results in a color, while "b" (recessive) might again not affect the color.

Since the genotype for the dog in question is "aabb," we notice:

  • It has two recessive alleles for both genes.
  • Since it has "aa" for the A gene, it will not be able to express any trait associated with "A."
  • Additionally, having "bb" for the B gene means it will express the recessive trait associated with that gene.

If we combine these understandings, we can conclude the following: with the genotype "aabb," the dog would express the recessive color traits corresponding to the combinations given, resulting in the dog's fur color being brown (if brown is the recessive trait associated with "bb") or whatever color the alleles indicate as the outcome.

Final Answer: The dog's fur color would be brown.