a) State the law of independent assortment.
b) With the help of Punnett square, explain how Mendel arrived at the law of independent
assortment.
c) State any one condition under which this law is not applicable.
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
a) The Principle of Independent Assortment describes how different genes independently separate from one another when reproductive cells develop. Independent assortment of genes and their corresponding traits was first observed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 during his studies of genetics in pea plants.
b) He noticed the same ratios in each case. From these experiments, Mendel formulated what is now known as Mendel's law of independent assortment. This law states that allele pairs separate independently during the formation of gametes. Therefore, traits are transmitted to offspring independently of one another.
Foundational to the law of independent assortment is the law of segregation. Mendel's earlier experiments led him to formulate this genetics principle. The law of segregation is based on four main concepts. The first is that genes exist in more than one form or allele. Secondly, organisms inherit two alleles (one from each parent) during sexual reproduction. Thirdly, these alleles separate during meiosis, leaving each gamete with one allele for a single trait. Finally, heterozygous alleles exhibit complete dominance, as one allele is dominant and the other is recessive.
c) in linkage and recombination.