Law of Independent Assortment
Definition: Mendelian law stating that alleles assort independently into the newly formed gametes
Law of Independent Assortment Definition
noun
(genetics) Mendelian law stating that for every pair of unit factors, each of them would assort independently into the newly formed gametes
More Info on Law of Independent Assortment
Breeding and testing about 5,000 pea plants, Gregor Mendel was able to come up with crucial generalizations that were later on used as founding principles of the Mendelian inheritance or Mendel’s Principles of Heredity.
The so-called “Mendel’s laws of inheritance” came about based on the set of principles of Gregor Mendel. These laws are the Law of Segregation, the Law of Independent Assortment, the Law of Dominance, and the Law of Unit Characters.
The unit factors that are being referred to in Gregor Mendel’s theories are now called genes. Accordingly, in a diploid organism, the genes exist in alternative forms called alleles. These alleles are brought together in fertilization. One set of alleles comes from the maternal gamete and the other set from the paternal gamete.
During fertilization (the union of gametes), the alleles are paired together, forming a zygote. The zygote, which bears two sets of chromosomes (diploid, 2n) from its parents, develops into a new organism capable of reproducing by forming its own gametes. During the formation of its own gametes, the paired alleles would separate and assort independently so that only one member goes into the gamete.
READ: Independent Assortment and Crossing Over
Watch this review video on the Law of Independent Assortment and recombination (crossing over) in meiosis during gamete formation:
See also:
- Gregor Mendel
- Mendelian inheritance
- Law of Segregation
- Law of Unit Characters
- Law of Dominance
- gene
- allele
- genotype
- phenotype
- heredity
- meiosis
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 | CROSSING OVER & INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT – QUIZ Use this to evaluate the student’s familiarity with the core concepts in crossing over and independent assortment. It has two sections. The first is a fill-in-the-gaps test about crossing over and the second is a matching type about Mendelian Law of Independent Assortment. Subjects: Genetics & Evolution |
 | MENDEL’S PRINCIPLES OF HEREDITY – QUIZ Print this quiz for your students to answer. The first part is a recall of Gregor Mendel’s principles of heredity. The second part is a multiple-choice test about alleles and sex chromosomes. Subjects: Genetics & Evolution |
