Question

What are complementary genes? Does this inheritance pattern obey Mendel’s second law?

Answer 1

Complimentary genes are different genes that act together to give rise to a particular pehotypic trait. For example, two complimantary genes having the alleles X,x, Y and y determine a particluar penotypic trait. In the F2 generation, four different phenotypic characters will be obtained: XXYY, XXyy, xxYY and xxyy. The colur of the feathers in some birds are determined by complimentary genes.

The inheritance pattern of the complimentary genes follows Mendel's second law because each complimentary gene segregates independently from the others as they are located on different chromosomes.