What is the Difference Between Dominance and Epistasis?

Dominance and epistasis are both genetic phenomena, but they differ in the way they affect the expression of genes and their interactions.

Dominance:

1. Dominance refers to the relationship between two alleles of the same gene.
2. In a pair of genes affecting the same hereditary character, one gene is more influential than the other.
3. Dominance is a type of interaction between alleles of the same gene.
4. There are three types of dominance: complete dominance, incomplete dominance, and codominance.
5. Dominance is also known as intragenic or intra-locus gene interaction.

Epistasis:

1. Epistasis refers to the interaction between alleles of different genes.
2. In a pair of genes affecting the same hereditary character, one gene interferes with the expression of the other.
3. Epistasis is a type of interaction between alleles of different genes.
4. There are several types of epistasis, such as dominant epistasis, recessive epistasis, and duplicate dominant epistasis.
5. Epistasis is also known as intergenic or inter-locus gene interaction.

In summary, dominance is a phenomenon where one allele of a gene is more influential than another allele of the same gene, while epistasis involves the interaction between alleles of different genes, with one gene affecting the expression of the other.

Comparative Table: Dominance vs Epistasis

Dominance and epistasis are two genetic concepts that explain the occurrence of phenotypes from genes. Here is a table summarizing the differences between them:

In summary, dominance explains the masking effect of different alleles of the same gene on a particular phenotype, while epistasis describes the relationship between genes and how alleles of one gene affect the expression of another gene.