A cross of a black chicken with a white chicken produces all speckled offspring. This type of inheritance is known as.....
co-dominance
The type of inheritance where a cross between two individuals, one black and one white, produces all speckled offspring is known as incomplete dominance. In incomplete dominance, the phenotype of the offspring is intermediate or a blend of the phenotypes of the two parents.
The type of inheritance described in this scenario is known as codominance. Codominance occurs when two different alleles for a gene are expressed simultaneously in the offspring. In this case, the black chicken and white chicken each have different alleles for feather color, and their offspring display a speckled or mottled pattern, expressing both alleles.
To understand this concept, it helps to have a basic understanding of genetics. Genes are segments of DNA that determine inherited traits, and they are made up of alleles, which are different forms of a gene. An organism inherits two alleles for each gene, one from each parent.
In the case of feather color in chickens, there may be one allele for black feathers (B) and another allele for white feathers (W). When a black chicken (BB) mates with a white chicken (WW), each parent contributes one allele to the offspring. In codominance, both alleles are expressed, resulting in the offspring having a combination of both traits. Therefore, the offspring (BW) have a speckled or mottled appearance, expressing both black and white feathers.