Difference Between Epistatic Gene and Hypostatic Gene

The key difference between epistatic gene and hypostatic gene is that the epistatic gene is a gene that influences the expression of another gene at a different locus while the hypostatic gene is the gene that subjects into the interference of the epistatic gene.

Certain genes depend on other non-allelic genes for their expressions. Epistasis is a form of gene interaction in which one gene interferes or masks the expression of another gene located in a different locus. Hence, it is kind of non-allelic gene interaction. In this special gene interaction, two genes interact, and they are the epistatic gene and hypostatic gene. Accordingly, the gene that masks the expression of other gene is known as epistatic gene while the gene whose expression is affected is known as a hypostatic gene.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Epistatic Gene
3. What is Hypostatic Gene
4. Similarities Between Epistatic Gene and Hypostatic Gene
5. Side by Side Comparison – Epistatic Gene vs Hypostatic Gene in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Epistatic Gene?

Epistasis is a gene interaction that can affect the phenotype of a particular gene. In this particular gene interaction, one gene suppresses the expression of another gene located at a different locus. Therefore, epistatic gene refers to the gene that interferes or masks the phenotype of the second gene .

For example, the gene for total baldness is epistatic to the gene for brown hair. Therefore, epistatic gene can alter the expression of the phenotype of the other gene.

What is Hypostatic Gene?

The hypostatic gene is the gene whose expression is affected by the epistatic gene in an epistatic event. The phenotype of the hypostatic gene alters due to the influence of the epistatic gene. Hence, the expression of hypostatic gene entirely depends on the epistatic gene. More often, the epistatic gene suppresses the expression of the phenotype of the hypostatic gene.

For instance, the alleles determining the colour of the dog; Labrador retriever which is black or brown are alleles of the hypostatic gene while the chocolate coat colour is the expression of the epistatic gene of it.

What are the Similarities Between Epistatic Gene and Hypostatic Gene?

• Epistatic Gene and Hypostatic Gene are two types of genes that involve in an epistasis event.
• Epistatic gene influences the phenotype of the hypostatic gene.
• Also, both epistatic gene and hypostatic genes involve in the non-allelic gene interaction.

What is the Difference Between Epistatic Gene and Hypostatic Gene?

Epistatic gene can suppress or mask the phenotype of another gene at a different locus. On the other hand, the gene whose expression is getting affected is said to be a hypostatic gene. Therefore, this is the key difference between epistatic gene and hypostatic gene.

Moreover, epistatic gene can inhibit, suppress or masks the phenotype of hypostatic gene. In Labrador retriever, chocolate coat colour is a result of epistasis event. However, the brown or black coat colours are the allele expressions of the hypostatic gene.

Following is a tabulation of the difference between epistatic gene and hypostatic gene.

Summary – Epistatic Gene vs Hypostatic Gene

Epistasis is a kind of non-allelic gene interaction. Hence, it occurs between the genes at different loci. One allele of one gene suppresses or masks the visible output or the phenotype of another gene. This epistasis event occurs between two genes namely epistatic gene and hypostatic gene. Summarizing the difference between epistatic gene and hypostatic gene; epistatic gene is the gene that suppresses or masks the second gene at a different locus while, hypostatic gene is the gene whose phenotype is affected by the epistatic gene. In simple words, the epistatic gene influences the expression of the hypostatic gene in this particular gene interaction.

Reference:

1. “Epistasis: Gene Interaction and Phenotype Effects.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.”Epistatic hair”By Thomas Shafee – Own work, (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.”YellowLabradorLooking new”By Djmirko and Habj (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia