Mendelian Genetics Flashcards
Why did Mendel use pea plants for his experiments?
- Easy to grow
- True-breeding strains
- Controlled mating: self-fertilization or cross fertilization
- Grow to maturity in one season
- Observable characteristics with two distinct forms
What is a true-breeding strain?
A group of identical individuals that always produce offspring of the same phenotype when intercrossed.
Monohybrid Crosses
a cross between two organisms with different variations at one genetic locus of interest
Dihybrid Crosses
a cross between two organisms with different variations at two genetic locuses of interest
What are particulate unit factors?
Genes or alleles
What are alleles?
one of two or more alternative forms of a gene
What is phenotype?
The physical expression of the genes
What is genotype?
The genetic representation of the gene: Dd
What is heterozygous?
Dd, having two different alleles
What is homozygous?
dd or DD, having the same alleles
What is a testcross?
an experimental cross of an individual organism of dominant phenotype but unknown genotype and an organism with a homozygous recessive genotype
What is the product law of probabilities?
the probability of two (or more) independent events occurring together can be calculated by multiplying the individual probabilities of the events.
