The word "codominance" is spelled with the IPA phonetic transcription /ˌkoʊdoʊˈmɪnəns/. This word combines the prefix "co-" meaning "together" or "jointly", with the word "dominance" meaning "the state of being in control". The 'o' in 'co' is pronounced as a long vowel sound /oʊ/ and the 'a' in 'dominance' is pronounced as a short vowel sound /ə/. When pronounced correctly, "codominance" refers to a genetic situation where both alleles of a gene are equally dominant and expressed in the phenotype of an organism.
Codominance is a genetic concept that refers to the phenomenon in which two different alleles of a gene pair are expressed simultaneously and equally in the phenotype of an organism. In this case, both alleles are said to be dominant and neither is recessive, resulting in a unique expression of both traits. Unlike in simple dominance, where one allele suppresses the expression of another, codominant alleles are able to coexist without any dominance relationship.
Codominance can be observed in a variety of genetic traits. For instance, in blood type inheritance, the ABO blood group system demonstrates codominance. The presence of two codominant alleles, namely the A and B alleles, results in the expression of both A and B antigens on the surface of red blood cells, yielding blood type AB. This is distinct from the dominance relationship present in the O allele, which lacks the expression of A or B antigens.
In codominant traits, the offspring of a cross between two heterozygous parents will display a phenotypic expression of both parental traits. Furthermore, the genotypic ratio typically follows the Mendelian principle of 1:2:1, as both heterozygous and homozygous individuals for each allele can be produced.
Overall, codominance provides a mechanism for the simultaneous expression of multiple alleles within a gene pair, resulting in a unique phenotype that displays traits from both alleles equally.
The word "codominance" is derived from two roots: "co-" and "dominance".
The prefix "co-" comes from the Latin word "cum", which means "together" or "with". It is commonly used to indicate joint participation or mutual action.
The root word "dominance" comes from the Latin word "dominare", which means "to dominate" or "to rule". It refers to the state or condition of being dominant, having power or control over something.
When these two elements are combined, "co-" and "dominance", the resulting term "codominance" refers to a situation in genetics where two alleles for a given gene are equally expressed in a heterozygous individual. In other words, both alleles are individually expressed without one being dominant over the other.