Question

Explain in your own words, the principles of heredity laid as by Mendel. Please also explain how these principles work with the processes laid out by Darwin/Wallace

Answer 1

Gregor Mendel worked on 7 contrasting characters of pea plants for 8 years, discovered these three fundamental laws of inheritance :

1. Law of segregation : According to mendel, each inherited trait is controlled by a gene pair known as alleles. Each cell contain pair of allele for a particular character. At the time of miosis in the sex cells, each allele ( from a gene pair ) separates so that sex cells contain only one gene of the pair. Offspring therefore inherit one genetic allele from each parent when sex cells unite in fertilization.This separation of alleles at the time of Miosis is known as Law of segregation.
2. The Law of Independent Assortment : This states that allele pairs separate during the formation of gametes and passed independently of one another. So, the selection of an allele for one character has nothing to do with the selection of an allele for any other character.
3. The Law of Dominance : Each character has two alternative forms of gene, one is Dominant gene and other is Recessive. A cross between a homozygous dominant and a homozygous recessive will always express the dominant phenotype. This is known as law of dominance.