18) Hydrangea plants of the same genotype are planted in a large flower garden. Some ofthe plants produce blue flowers and others pink flowers. This can be best explained bywhich of the following?A) multiple alleles must involvedB) the allele for blue hydrangea is completely dominant over the allele for pink hydrangeaC) the genes for flower color experience epistatic interactionsD) environmental factors such as soil pH affect the phenotypeinont ollole

The Hydrangea plants planted are of the same phenotypes and produce two types of flowers, one with blue color and other with pink color. 18) If there were multiple alleles, then there would have been various phenotypes of flowers i.e. multiple colors of flowers and not just blue and pink colors. Since the Hydrangea plants are planted in a large garden plot are of the same genotypes i.e. all the plants with the same alleles, there is no chance of dominance or recessive phenomenon. In epistatic interactions, one genotype masks or interferes with the expression of another genotype, but since all the plants belong to the same genotype, there is no chance of epistasis. Certain environmental factors such as pH of the soil, effect of light, temperature, affect the phenotype or color of the flowers. The inappropriate pH of the soil in certain parts of the garden can lead to a change in gene expression. Thus, the correct answer is option D. environmental factors such as soil pH affects the phenotype