Gregor Mendel’s original hypotheses about the inheritance of traits, based on his experiments with pea plants, can be summarized in several key principles, most notably the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment. Here are the hypotheses that were particularly supported by his data:
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Law of Segregation: Mendel proposed that each individual carries two alleles for each trait, one inherited from each parent. These alleles segregate (separate) during the formation of gametes, ensuring that each gamete carries only one allele for each trait. His experiments demonstrated that upon fertilization, the resulting offspring exhibit combinations of these alleles, supporting the idea that alleles segregate into gametes.
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Law of Independent Assortment: Mendel also proposed that the alleles for different traits assort independently of one another during gamete formation. His work with dihybrid crosses (where he studied two traits at once, such as seed shape and seed color) showed that the inheritance of one trait did not influence the inheritance of another, illustrating that different traits are inherited independently.
Mendel's meticulous breeding experiments with various traits in pea plants, such as flower color, seed shape, and pod color, provided quantitative data that supported these hypotheses. For instance, the consistent ratios of dominant to recessive traits in the F2 generation overwhelmingly supported his claims about segregation and independent assortment. These foundational principles laid the groundwork for modern genetics.
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