Basics of Mendelian Genetics

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Who is considered the father of genetics?

Gregor Mendel is considered the father of genetics.

What are Mendel's Laws of Inheritance?

Mendel's Laws are the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment.

What is an allele?

An allele is a variant form of a gene.

What does 'dominant allele' mean?

A dominant allele is an allele that expresses its trait even in the presence of a recessive allele.

What is a genotype?

A genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism in terms of its alleles.

What is a phenotype?

A phenotype is the observable characteristics or traits of an organism.

What is the purpose of a Punnett square?

A Punnett square is used to predict the genotypes of offspring from a genetic cross.

What is the Law of Segregation?

The Law of Segregation states that two alleles for a trait separate during gamete formation.

What is the Law of Independent Assortment?

The Law of Independent Assortment states that alleles for different traits can segregate independently during gamete formation.

What is a homozygous genotype?

A homozygous genotype has two identical alleles for a particular gene.

What is a heterozygous genotype?

A heterozygous genotype has two different alleles for a particular gene.

What is a recessive allele?

A recessive allele is an allele that is masked by a dominant allele and only expressed in a homozygous condition.

What did Mendel use to conduct his genetic experiments?

Mendel used pea plants for his genetic experiments.

What is meant by a 'monohybrid cross'?

A monohybrid cross involves the study of a single gene with different alleles from two organisms.

What is 'true breeding' in genetics?

True breeding refers to organisms that consistently pass down specific phenotypic traits to offspring.

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