Name: Evolution of Man
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 7 min 34 s
Description: The theory of evolution explains how modern species exist. But what about humans? How does this process affect our species? Find these answers in this video!

Question

How do Mendel's experiments show that traits are inherited independently?

Accepted Answer

Mendel proved that traits are inherited independently through dihybrid inheritance. This means that he carried out a dihybrid cross to show that inheritance of traits are independent of each other. This involved two pairs of contrasting characteristics of pea plant seeds, that is, round-yellow seeds (RRYY) and wrinkled-green seeds (rryy). The dihybrid cross resulted in production of round yellow seeds as offsprings in the $F_{1}$ generation and it was concluded that round shape and yellow colour of the seeds were dominant traits over the wrinkled shape and green colour of seeds.

Moreover, when the $F_{1}$ generation plants were cross-bred with self pollination, then the the offsprings obatined in $F_{2}$ generation were of four types, namely, round-yellow, round-green, wrinkled-yellow, and wrinkled-green inthe ratio of $9 : 3 : 3 : 1$ . From this, Mendel concluded that, he started the experiment with two combinations (round-yellow and wrinkled-green) and two new combinations were obtained in the $F_{2}$ generation, thus, the traits seperate and behave independently in subsequent generations.

How do Mendel's experiments show that traits are inherited independently?

Important Questions on Heredity and Evolution

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