How do genetic mutations affect monohybrid inheritance?

Genetic mutations can alter monohybrid inheritance by introducing new alleles or changing the function of existing ones.

Monohybrid inheritance refers to the inheritance of a single trait that is controlled by two alleles, one from each parent. In a typical scenario, one allele is dominant and the other is recessive. The dominant allele masks the effect of the recessive allele, resulting in the offspring expressing the trait associated with the dominant allele. However, genetic mutations can disrupt this pattern of inheritance.

A genetic mutation is a change in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. This can occur in several ways, such as through the substitution, deletion, or insertion of one or more DNA bases. These changes can result in the creation of a new allele, or they can alter the function of an existing allele. For example, a mutation might change a dominant allele into a recessive one, or vice versa. This can significantly affect the outcome of monohybrid inheritance.

Furthermore, some mutations can result in codominance or incomplete dominance. In codominance, both alleles for a trait are fully expressed, resulting in a phenotype that is a blend of the two. In incomplete dominance, neither allele is completely dominant over the other, resulting in a phenotype that is intermediate between the two. These situations can also alter the expected outcomes of monohybrid inheritance.

In addition, mutations can also lead to the occurrence of multiple alleles, where more than two alleles exist for a particular gene in a population. This can further complicate monohybrid inheritance, as it introduces more possible combinations of alleles.

In summary, genetic mutations can significantly affect monohybrid inheritance by introducing new alleles, changing the function of existing ones, or leading to situations of codominance, incomplete dominance, or multiple alleles.