Mendelian Genetics: Foundational Principles of Inheritance
Gregor Mendel's groundbreaking work with pea plants established the fundamental laws of genetic inheritance, revolutionizing our understanding of how traits are passed from parents to offspring. This summary explores key concepts in Mendelian genetics, including:
- The basics of heredity and genetic transmission
- Mendel's experimental design and choice of pea plants
- Concepts of dominant and recessive alleles
- Genotypes and phenotypes
- Monohybrid and dihybrid crosses
- Punnett squares and probability in genetics
- Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment
Understanding these principles is crucial for grasping more complex genetic concepts and their applications in modern biology and medicine.