Mendelian genetics is rooted in Gregor Mendel's work with pea plants, revealing how traits are inherited across generations. His experiments led to the discovery of genes, alleles, and the principles of dominance, segregation, and independent assortment. While Mendel's laws form the basis of genetic inheritance, exceptions like polygenic traits and gene linkage illustrate the complexity of heredity.
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Mendel is known as the "Father of Genetics" for his experiments with pea plants that led to the discovery of basic principles of heredity
Parental Generation (P)
Mendel used purebred pea plants in the parental generation to study the inheritance of traits
First Filial Generation (F1)
By cross-pollinating plants with different traits, Mendel produced the first filial generation, which exhibited the dominant trait
Second Filial Generation (F2)
The self-pollination of the F1 generation yielded the second filial generation, which displayed a 3:1 ratio of dominant to recessive traits
Key terms in Mendelian genetics include gene, allele, phenotype, genotype, dominant allele, and recessive allele
The dominant allele will mask the expression of a recessive allele in a heterozygous individual
Alleles are separated and randomly distributed to gametes during the process of inheritance
The distribution of alleles for one gene is independent of the distribution of alleles for other genes, leading to genetic variation in offspring
Complex traits influenced by multiple genes, such as skin color and height, do not adhere to simple Mendelian ratios
Some genes have more than two allelic forms, as seen in the ABO blood group system
Codominance, incomplete dominance, pleiotropy, and gene linkage are examples of exceptions to Mendelian inheritance patterns
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Mendel's experimental organism
Pea plants used to discover heredity principles.
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Mendelian contrast to blending theory
Traits inherited as discrete units, not blended.
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Mendelian concept of alleles
Different forms of a gene determining traits.
