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Mendelian laws of inheritance are statements about the way certain

characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another in an


organism . The laws were derived by the Austrian monk Gregor Mendel
(18221884) based on experiments he conducted in the period from about
1857 to 1865. For his experiments, Mendel used ordinary pea plants. Among
the traits that Mendel studied were the color of a plant's flowers, their
location on the plant, the shape and color of pea pods, the shape and color of
seeds, and the length of plant stems.
Mendel's approach was to transfer pollen (which contains male sex cells) from
the stamen (the male reproductive organ) of one pea plant to the pistil
(female reproductive organ) of a second pea plant. As a simple example of
this kind of experiment, suppose that one takes pollen from a pea plant with
red flowers and uses it to fertilize a pea plant with white flowers. What
Mendel wanted to know is what color the flowers would be in the offspring of
these two plants. In a second series of experiments, Mendel studied the
changes that occurred in the second generation. That is, suppose two
offspring of the red/white mating ("cross") are themselves mated. What color
will the flowers be in this second generation of plants? As a result of these
experiments, Mendel was able to state three generalizations about the way
characteristics are transmitted from one generation to the next in pea plants.
Words to Know
Allele: One of two or more forms a gene may take.
Dominant: An allele whose expression overpowers the effect of a second
form of the same gene.
Gamete: A reproductive cell.
Heterozygous: A condition in which two alleles for a given gene are different
from each other.
Homozygous: A condition in which two alleles for a given gene are the
same.
Recessive: An allele whose effects are concealed in offspring by the
dominant allele in the pair.
Terminology
Before reviewing these three laws, it will be helpful to define some of the
terms used in talking about Mendel's laws of inheritance. Most of these terms
were invented not by Mendel, but by biologists some years after his research
was originally published.
Genes are the units in which characteristics are passed from one generation
to the next. For example, a plant with red flowers must carry a gene for that
characteristic.
A gene for any given characteristic may occur in one of two forms, called the
alleles (pronounced uh-LEELZ) of that gene. For example, the gene for color
in pea plants can occur in the form (allele) for a white flower or in the form
(allele) for a red color.

The first step that takes place in reproduction is for the sex cells in plants to
divide into two halves, called gametes. The next step is for the gametes from
the male plant to combine with the gametes of the female plant to produce a
fertilized egg. That fertilized egg is called a zygote. A zygote contains genetic
information from both parents.
For example, a zygote might contain one allele for white flowers and one
allele for red flowers. The plant that develops from that zygote would said to
be heterozygous for that trait since its gene for flower color has two different
alleles. If the zygote contains a gene with two identical alleles, it is said to be
homozygous.

Mendel's laws
Mendel's law of segregation describes what happens to the alleles that make
up a gene during formation of gametes. For example, suppose that a pea
plant contains a gene for flower color in which both alleles code for red. One
way to represent that condition is to write RR, which indicates that both
alleles (R and R) code for the color red. Another gene might have a different
combination of alleles, as in Rr. In this case, the symbol R stands for red color
and the r for "not red" or, in this case, white. Mendel's law of segregation
says that the alleles that make up a gene separate from each other, or
segregate, during the formation of gametes. That fact can be represented by
simple equations, such as:
RR R + R or Rr R + r
Mendel's second law is called the law of independent assortment. That law
refers to the fact that any plant contains many different kinds of genes. One
gene determines flower color, a second gene determines length of stem, a
third gene determines shape of pea pods, and so on. Mendel discovered that
the way in which alleles from different genes separate and then recombine is
unconnected to other genes. That is, suppose that a plant contains genes for
color (RR) and for shape of pod (TT). Then Mendel's second law says that the
two genes will segregate independently, as:
RR R + R and TT T + T
Mendel's third law deals with the matter of dominance. Suppose that a gene
contains an allele for red color (R) and an allele for white color (r). What will
be the color of the flowers produced on this plant? Mendel's answer was that
in every pair of alleles, one is more likely to be expressed than the other. In
other words, one allele is dominant and the other allele is recessive. In the

example of an Rr gene, the flowers produced will be red because the allele R
is dominant over the allele r.
Importance of Medellian law of inheritance
Mendel's great contribution was in the concept of genetic inheritance.
Knowing that traits are hereditary has helped farmers, and every type of
animal breeder. In addition, people can now learn what diseases, etc. they
may pass on to their young or what genetic conditions to which they may be
susceptible. For instance, if one's father has hemophilia, a person can go to a
genetics clinic and learn if his/her offspring could have the same disease.

MAYPRIDE SECONDARY SCHOOL


STUDENT: - EZECHUKWU CHINENYE

SUBJECT: - AGRIC

CLASS: - SS2

TEACHER: - MR. KOLAWOLE

PROJECT : - WRITE IN DETAILS, THE


IMPORTANCE/USEFULNESS OF

MENDELLIAN LAWS OF INHERITANCE IN


PLANTS BREEDING. USE THE GENETIC
TERMS TO DESCRIBE THEM.

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