Mendel's Law of Dominance Flashcards

Study Notes

Key Genetic Terms and Definitions

Allele: Alternative forms of a gene influencing specific traits in an organism.
Dominant: Trait that is visibly expressed when present and can hide the presence of a recessive trait.
Genotype: The complete genetic makeup of an organism, encompassing all alleles.
Heredity: The mechanism through which genetic traits are transmitted from parents to their offspring.
Heterozygous: Describes an organism possessing two different alleles for a given genetic trait.
Homologous Chromosomes: Pairs of chromosomes that share the same genes at identical locations, crucial for genetic inheritance.
Homozygous: An organism with two identical alleles for a specific trait, leading to uniform expression of that trait.

Mendel's Principles of Inheritance

Independent Assortment: Mendel's principle indicating that allele pairs segregate independently during gamete formation, allowing for the independent inheritance of traits.
Inheritance: The overall process by which genetic traits and characteristics are passed down from parent generations to their descendants.
Law of Dominance: States that in a heterozygous organism, the dominant allele is expressed in the phenotype while the recessive allele is masked.
Law of Segregation: Asserts that for every trait, alleles segregate into separate gametes during formation, ensuring each gamete carries only one allele from each pair.

Additional Key Concepts

Offspring: The descendants resulting from the reproductive processes of parent organisms.
Phenotype: The observable physical or biochemical characteristics determined by the genotype, influenced by environmental factors.
Recessive Allele: An allele that does not manifest in the phenotype when paired with a dominant allele, requiring two copies to be expressed.
Trait: A distinguishing quality or characteristic of an organism that can vary among individuals.

Description

Explore key terms related to Mendel's Law of Dominance with these flashcards. Each card provides important definitions for concepts such as alleles, genotypes, and heredity. Perfect for students studying genetics and inheritance patterns.