Question

Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs, the pancreas, the digestive system, and other organs, resulting in symptoms ranging from breathing difficulties to recurrent infections. Which of the following terms best describes this expression of phenotypes
a, incomplete dominance
b.codominance
c multiple alleles
d epistasis e pleiotropy

Answer 1

Answer:

e: pleiotropy

Explanation:

Pleiotropy is a genetic term that describes a situation in which a single gene controls the expression of multiple traits.

Depending on the underlining mechanism, there are different types of pleiotropy:

• gene pleiotropy: this occur when a protein representing a gene interacts with other proteins or catalyses multiple reactions
• developmental pleiotropy: this occur when mutation of a gene have multiple phenotypic effects
• selectional pleiotropy: This occur when the phenotypic expression of a single gene has multiple effects on fitness.

In this case, cystic fibrosis gene has multiple phenotypic effects which include its effects on the lungs, pancreas, digestive system and other organs.

The correct option is e.