Epistasis Flashcards
What is epistasis?
the interaction between two non-linked genes which
causes one gene to mask the expression of the other in the phenotype.
Epiststic genes can work ____________ or ___________
antagonistically (against each other)
in a complementary fashion.
What is an epistatic gene?
a gene that suppresses another gene
What is a hypostatic gene?
gene which is being suppressed
Describe dominant antagonistic epistasis
the expression of the dominant allele of the epistatic gene prevents the expression of the hypostatic gene.
{This means that any genotypic combination with either one or two of the dominant alleles for the epistatic gene will suppress the expression of the hypostatic gene.}
Describe Recessive epistasis
the presence of two copies of the recessive allele at the first locus prevents the expression of another allele at a second locus.
Describe complementary epistasis
the two genes work together, for example, they may encode two enzymes that work in succession.
