Figure 3

Mendel's 3(dominant):1(recessive) trait ratio does not always occur. Mendel's notation for a dominant trait, a hybrid and a recessive trait were (B), (Bb) and (b) respectively. For reasons given in the preceding paper [1], the hybrid is represented in Figure 3 by (H). When graded changes are made in any one enzyme in a metabolic pathway the response of the flux through that pathway is always non-linear (non-additive) but not always quasi-hyperbolic (Figure 2). Consequently when the enzyme activity at one metabolic locus is decreased in the heterozygote to (say) 50% of wild-type, the trait displayed by the hybrid (H) is now distinguishable from the trait (B) displayed by the wild type cell or organism and from the trait (b) displayed by the homozygously mutant cell or organism. Mendel's 3(dominant):1(recessive trait ratio will not be observed. The explanation is consistent with the explanation for the observation of the 3:1 trait ratio in Figure 2 and achieves what the currently favoured explanation of Mendel's observations cannot achieve [1].