In Lathyrus odoratus, cross between two purple flowered plants give a pink/white progeny. It is due

Options

A. Codominance
B. Incomplete dominance
C. Epistasis
D. Segregation

Answer

**Step-by-Step Solution:**

1. **Understanding the Cross**: We start with two purple-flowered plants of Lathyrus odoratus. These plants are likely to be heterozygous for the flower color trait, meaning they have one allele for purple (dominant) and one for white (recessive).

2. **Genotypes of Parent Plants**: Let’s denote the purple allele as "P" and the white allele as "p". The genotypes of the parent plants can be represented as Pp (heterozygous).

3. **Punnett Square Setup**: To determine the possible genotypes of the offspring, we can set up a Punnett square. The gametes from each parent (P and p) will combine to form the offspring.

```
P p
------------
P | PP | Pp |
------------
p | Pp | pp |
------------
```

4. **Offspring Genotypes**: From the Punnett square, we can see the possible genotypes of the offspring:
- PP (homozygous dominant) - Purple
- Pp (heterozygous) - Purple
- pp (homozygous recessive) - White

5. **Phenotypic Ratio**: The phenotypic ratio from the cross is:
- 3 Purple (PP and Pp) : 1 White (pp)

6. **Observation of Pink Flowers**: The question states that the progeny includes pink flowers. This indicates that the purple allele exhibits incomplete dominance when combined with the white allele, resulting in a pink phenotype in heterozygous plants (Pp).

7. **Conclusion**: Therefore, the presence of pink flowers in the progeny is due to incomplete dominance, where the heterozygous genotype (Pp) expresses an intermediate phenotype (pink).

8. **Final Answer**: The cross between two purple-flowered plants in Lathyrus odoratus gives pink or white progeny due to incomplete dominance.

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