What is the law of independent assortment in genetics?

The law of independent assortment states that alleles of different genes assort independently of each other during gamete formation.

Proposed By:

• Gregor Mendel, based on his experiments with pea plants

Explanation:

• Each pair of alleles separates independently during meiosis
• The inheritance of one trait does not influence another when genes are unlinked

Example:

For a dihybrid cross:
RrYy × RrYy

Possible gametes:

• RY, Ry, rY, ry

This leads to the phenotypic ratio:
9 : 3 : 3 : 1

Conditions for Validity:

• Genes must be on different chromosomes or far apart on the same chromosome
• Not applicable for linked genes

Conclusion:

The law of independent assortment explains how different traits are inherited separately, increasing genetic variation in offspring.