Chapter 12 - Mendelian Genetics

These flashcards focus on key vocabulary terms and concepts related to Mendelian genetics as outlined in Chapter 12.

True-breeding

Organisms that, when mated, produce offspring that exhibit the same traits as the parents.

Self-crossing

The process where a plant fertilizes its own ovules, leading to offspring generation.

Progeny

The offspring or descendants produced from a parent organism.

Hybrid

Offspring resulting from the combination of two different genetic parents.

Dihybrid

A genetic cross between individuals that differ in two traits.

Allele

Different versions of a gene that determine distinct traits.

Homozygous

An organism that has two identical alleles for a trait.

Heterozygous

An organism that has two different alleles for a trait.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an organism, consisting of all alleles.

Phenotype

The observable physical and physiological traits of an organism.

Monohybrid cross

A genetic cross that examines the inheritance of a single trait.

Principle of segregation

During the formation of gametes, alleles for a trait segregate from each other.

Phenotypic ratio

The ratio of different phenotypes in the offspring resulting from a genetic cross.

Genotypic ratio

The ratio of different genotypes among the offspring of a genetic cross.

Independent assortment

The principle stating that alleles for different traits segregate independently during gamete formation.

Polygenic inheritance

A form of inheritance in which multiple genes influence a single trait.

Quantitative trait

A trait that is controlled by multiple genes and varies continuously, as opposed to discrete traits which have distinct categories.

Pleiotropy

The phenomenon where one gene influences multiple, seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits.