Erminette coloration in chickens is an example of which pattern of inheritance?

• A. Codominance
• B. Incomplete dominance
• C. Complete dominance
• D. Polygenic inheritance

Answer: (C)

Erminette coloration shows codominance: in a heterozygous chicken for the feather-color alleles, both alleles are expressed, giving plumage that visibly displays black and white feathers together rather than one color hiding the other or blending into a single shade. This differs from incomplete dominance, where the heterozygote would be a new intermediate color (like red plus white producing pink); and from complete dominance, where one allele completely masks the other. Polygenic inheritance involves many genes contributing to a trait, often producing continuous variation rather than discrete colors. An example of codominance you might know is the AB blood type in humans, where both A and B antigens are expressed. So, the pattern seen in Erminette chickens is codominance.