Mendelian Genetics and Inheritance 11-15

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts related to Mendelian genetics, inheritance patterns, and related genetic disorders.

Homozygous

Chromosomes that have identical alleles (e.g., AA).

Heterozygous

Chromosomes that have differing alleles (e.g., Aa).

Dominant traits

Traits that appear even if only one copy of the gene is present.

Recessive traits

Traits that only appear when two copies of a gene are inherited (e.g., aa).

Genotype

An organism's genetic makeup.

Phenotype

The physical appearance resulting from the genotype.

True-breeding

Any breeding that will consistently result in the same phenotype for the offspring.

Blended inheritance

The old belief that offspring inherit traits as an average of their parents' traits.

Particulate inheritance

The modern understanding that traits are passed in 'particles', or genes, rather than being blended.

Law of segregation

Each individual has alleles for each trait that separate during gamete formation.

Law of independent assortment

Alleles for different genes separate independently of each other during gamete formation.

Monohybrid cross

A genetic cross that focuses on a single trait.

Dihybrid cross

A genetic cross that involves two traits.

Pedigree chart

A diagram that displays the family history of a trait across generations.

Autosomal dominant disorder

A genetic condition that can be passed from one affected parent to their children.

Autosomal recessive disorder

A condition that typically shows affected children having unaffected parents.

Incomplete dominance

A form of inheritance where the heterozygote has a phenotype that is a mix of the two homozygotes.

Pleiotropy

The phenomenon where a single gene influences multiple distinct traits.

Polygenic inheritance

A trait controlled by multiple sets of alleles.

X-linked genes

Genes that are carried on the X chromosome.

Meiosis

A type of cell division resulting in four haploid gametes.