Mendel's laws of inheritance:
Mendel's laws of inheritance, also known as Mendelian genetics, are the principles formulated by Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk and botanist, based on his groundbreaking experiments with pea plants in the 19th century. Mendel's work laid the foundation for the field of modern genetics.
What are Mendel's laws of inheritance?
He established three fundamental laws of inheritance:
1. Law of Segregation:
According to the law of segregation, during the formation of gametes (reproductive cells), the two alleles (alternative forms of a gene) for a given trait segregate from each other, so that each gamete carries only one allele for that trait. This law explains why offspring inherit one allele from each parent.
2. Law of Independent Assortment:
The law of independent assortment states that the alleles for different traits segregate independently of one another during gamete formation. In other words, the inheritance of one trait does not influence the inheritance of another trait. This law explains the inheritance of multiple traits simultaneously.
3. Law of Dominance:
The law of dominance states that when two different alleles are present in an individual, one allele (dominant) may mask the expression of the other allele (recessive) in the phenotype (observable traits). The dominant allele is expressed, while the recessive allele remains unexpressed unless it is present in a homozygous state (when both alleles are recessive).
Mendel's laws of inheritance provided a mechanistic explanation for how traits are passed from one generation to the next and laid the groundwork for our understanding of genetic inheritance. However, it is important to note that Mendel's laws are a simplified representation of genetic inheritance and do not account for all complexities, such as the influence of multiple genes, gene interactions, and other genetic phenomena.
Labels
Scientific terms