Fruit colour in Cucurbita pepo is an example of

Options

A. Complementary genes
B. Duplicate genes
C. Dominant epistasis
D. Polymeric genes

Answer

To determine the type of genetic interaction that results in the fruit color of Cucurbita pepo (commonly known as squash), we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Phenotypes**:
- Cucurbita pepo exhibits three fruit colors: white, yellow, and green.
- Among these, white is the most dominant color, while yellow and green are recessive.

2. **Understand the Genetic Basis**:
- The color of the fruit is determined by the interaction of different alleles (gene variants).
- The dominant allele for yellow color masks the expression of the recessive allele for green color.

3. **Define Epistasis**:
- Epistasis refers to a genetic interaction where one gene can mask or suppress the expression of another gene.
- In this case, the presence of the dominant yellow allele influences the expression of the other alleles, leading to the observed fruit colors.

4. **Identify the Type of Epistasis**:
- In dominant epistasis, one dominant allele can mask the effects of another allele at a different locus.
- Here, the dominant yellow allele is epistatic to the green allele, meaning that if the yellow allele is present, it will determine the fruit color regardless of the presence of the green allele.

5. **Conclusion**:
- Based on the above observations, we conclude that the fruit color in Cucurbita pepo is an example of **dominant epistasis**.

### Final Answer:
Fruit color in Cucurbita pepo is an example of **dominant epistasis**.

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